Society of Devotees — Disciples of Srila Prabhupada

Whatever happened to Prabhupada's Farms? THEY WILL BE VERY SOON JOBLESS. DON'T WORRY. [LAUGHS] THEY WILL COME. THEY WILL BE OBLIGED TO COME. NOW THEY HAVE GOT JOB, BUT AS THE DAYS ARE ADVANCING IN KALI-YUGA, THEY'LL BE JOBLESS. More

European Committee Of Prabhupadanugas (ECOP) A growing group of disciples and followers of Srila Prabhupada in Switzerland, Austria and Germany are getting ready to file an unique class-action lawsuit against ISKCON at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg/France. More

Radhanatha Proven to be Involved in Murder of Sulocana I would like to focus attention of readers on parts of this testimony, which particularly deals with the involvement of Radhanath Swami in this case. More

Bhaktivedanta Institute Pioneer Richard L. Thompson passes away ISKCON Newsweekly reports the departure of scientist Richard L. Thompson, 61, on Thursday, September 18th, apparently from heart attack at his home in Alachua, Florida. More

Srila Prabhupada is Shastra These men - who faithlessly rail AGAINST the power and authority of Srila Prabhupada - employing THEIR SO-CALLED faith or trust IN "SHASTRA" - literally cannot see the forest through the trees! More

ISKCON Untethered Clearly Srila Prabhuapda wanted a Constitutional TETHER to bind his agents (conditoned souls one and all) TO HIS DIVINE ORDERS & ARRANGEMENTS. More

In Defense of Srila Prabhupada's Authority and Position Hrdayananda's lecture simply gives arguments and justifications based on some intellectual wrangling of ideas of how one can discriminately and selectively reject certain aspects of Srila Prabhupada's teachings including Srila Prabhupada's divine purports. More

ISKCON is being taken over by Hindus Srila Prabhupada came to the West to give Krsna to ALL races and cultures. We must not just preach to the Indians, to the converted, but preach to EVERYONE regardless of race or culture. More

The Wrong Brother In Kiev 1982, I was sitting at a mental asylum. It seems to have been the Pavlov's hospital. It was then that I had to pass another exam on my illegal way of preaching in the USSR. More

The Authority of Srila Prabhupada and the Dictation of Lord Krishna At its core – this case – like all other aspects of ISKCON post 1977 – stems from the principle issue: WHOSE MISSION IS IT? WHO IS ACTUALLY the ACTUAL ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY UNDER THE BANNER OF ISKCON? More

Email from Padmapani ...It was TRULY GREAT to hear from you again. Thanks so much. I'm very happy to have made contact with you again after all these years. I always wanted you to know how deeply touched I was by your kindness and selfless service so many years ago. After I met you, things improved, I teamed up with Tribhuvanatha Prabhu and went to the Middle East for five years, etc. More

The Breath of Lord Krishna THIS - is the very essence of the meaning of "SIMULTANEOUSLY ONE AND DIFFERENT". ACHINTYA BEDA BEDA TATTWA means SRILA PRABHUPADA'S DIRECTIVES ARE NON-DIFFERENT FROM THE DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS OF LORD KRSNA. THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME - AND - EQUAL IN POTENCY. More

Going to Prabhupada "Previously they were advanced, all of you. You are simply born because the mission was to be started. Just like in Yadu-vamsa Krishna ordered all the devotee demigods to 'Go and take birth there to help Me.' Similarly, you are also... You were born in Europe, America, to help this. Otherwise you were devotees in you past lives. I have explained that in my recent writings." More

Srila Prabhupada's Arrival in Istanbul I attach a wonderful pastime about Srila Prabhupada here in Turkey. I would like to tell you that this is and I am a Prabhupada-based temple/center and would like to get as much Prabhupadanuga association here as possible to help the devotees here make their relationship with Prabhupada more solid and slowly develop interested new members. More

George Harrison on the ISKCON Gurus In 1987, 10 years after physical departure of His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement (ISKCON), George Harrison was interviewed by Sunday Tribune. Among other topics, they have discussed his involvement in the Hare Krishna movement. More

Who will take the risk? Unless at least one ISKCON leader on the Guru level comes forward and risks his spiritual and material Prestige, his career, disciples etc. to denounce this latest and the previous ( Satsvarupa swami ) falldowns of the "GURUS" and insists on following the July 9th rittvik order of Srila Prabhupada... More

Another one bites the dust Recently in Vrndavan Umapati prabhu (Swami?) was again confronted about his homosexual activities with his "disciples". He of course denied it like he has in the past. However this time a prominent devotee who has been preaching in China for years came forward and gave lots of evidence so Umapati submitted to the accusations. More

Prabhupada Still Alive This is a comment on the article written by Varaha Das entitled "Firefly Gurus Burning Out". I read this article with interest and also found it quite ironic. More

Bhakta Bob Ever notice how all these short-lived and sentimental devotee newsletters usually feature this highly-idealistic just-shaved-up semi-brahmachary writing for them named Bhakta Bob? I mean like, where are all the acharyas? Have they run out of ink? More

The Sun is Shining I have been fuming about this (actually even before) ever since Satvarupa finally acknowledged his "falldown", and remembering this one particular aspect of his pack of lies, i.e. lying to Srila Prabhupada and the devoteess in '77 about Prabhupada's request "You let ALL MY DISCIPLES NOW COME HERE TO VRNDAVANA TO SEE ME"... More

His Divine Grace in Krishna Culture The latest catalogue from Krishna Culture arrived recently, sent from their offices in Texas. Also known as Art & Culture, this impressive catalogue is run by a disciple of an ISKCON ex-"zonal acharya" of well-known past and of dubious future. More

ISKCON Ethics and the West Point Honor System ...ISKCON is the personal arrangement of Srila Prabhupada - and is more important than any institution on this planet - it merits a greater adherence to the principles of TRUTHFUL REPRESENTATION of the Spiritual Master Srila Prabhupada - its Founder - than any mundane organization in the world. More

Letter to the Prabhus You know, Prabhus, that it can easily be verified though shastra that our "singing guru," like Shrila Shri (108) Bhaktivinoda Thakura Acharya, our beloved param-param gurudevaji maharaja, Shrila Prabhupada was none other than a direct representative of Shri Narada, who travels the entire Universe on the strength of the holy names. More

Pavan's Press Issue V The internet is nothing more than an infinitesimal fraction of the potency of the Supreme Lord. Therefore, since it is Krishna's potency, it must be employed for preaching the glories of the name, fame, activities, abode, prowess, paraphernalia and devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord. More

Acharya is King The King (Prince) or Acharya - inevitably will surround himself with "Advisors" and an evolving "Nobility" or group of men mistakenly possessed of a sense of their own self importance - as a direct consequence of the role they presume to be of so much importance to the King or Acharya. More

High time to come clean I totally agree with you that ISKCON GBC has flunked out in his case. But I don't agree with your call for a "prolonged period of reform". I humbly submit that the only cure for him is to finally, once and for all, come clean about his part in perpetrating the guru hoax after Prabhupada's departure. And that better sooner than later. More

Fallout over Falldown The entire affair - and the GBC "handling" of it - is such utter and shameless insanity - that it really is better to just ignore and avoid it. These men and women are absolutely diseased. This entire matter is so beyond the pale that decent men should just shrug their shoulders and allow these numbskulls to simmer in their own sick juices. More

Letter from Satsvarupa (with Preamble from ISKCON GBC Executive Committee) GBC understatement of the year (what else could we expect?): "Satsvarupa dasa Goswami (SDG) will assume the status of retired sannyasi and retired disksa guru." More

Real money does exist At some point the fact that paper money is not money has to surface, and we see it happening now. More

A letter Hare Krishna Hansadutta Prabhu, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada! I came upon 'Nam Hatta' and was reading some of the articles... More

Wrong from the Get Go The entire conversation with Sridhar is based on one erroneous PREMISE that the 11 men in question were in fact GURUS OR ACHARYAS OF PRABHUPADA'S QUALITY, QUANTITY AND STATURE, authorized to assume a post which they were actually capable of executing. More

Revisiting the Beautiful Transcendental Qualities of Srila Prabhupada Last week a very great and dedicated devotee of Lord Krishna and Srila Prabhupada, Ajitananda Prabhu, left this material world. More

Departure of Book Distributor Sanjaya Das I had the good fortune of Sanjaya Prabhu's association during the years 1976-1982 and for brief periods of time from 1990-1992. Sanjaya Prabhu and I were roommates for some time at the West 55th St. Hare Krishna temple, Sri Sri Radha Govinda Mandira in New York City. More

Instructions of the Spiritual Master are being Neglected [Posted Sat, 3 Nov 2007] "If anyone strictly follows the regulative principles of Krishna Consciousness then he will always remain enthusiastic and dynamic. So if there are any defects within our Society it is only a symptom that the instructions of the spiritual master are being neglected." More

Mystery of the Parampara (das) He is indeed antagonistic towards your own Spiritual Master's authority - and you gleefully hide this - in order to foment this useless unresolvable debate on your site. This is demonic and offensive behaviour on your part. More

Direction of Management In 1970, ISKCON's Founder-Acharya, Srila Prabhupada (His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami) constructed the following legal document, "Direction of Management", popularly referred to as the DOM, for regulating the management of the Society. With it, he established the Governing Body Commission (GBC), and defined their role and powers with regard to the temples. More

Prescription takes precedence over books Back in 1975, when Srila Prabhupada was meeting with the GBC and they were having a discussion about drafting the pledge of allegiance, at some point there's discussion about whether to add also a line pledging allegiance or obedience to Srila Prabhupada's instructions in his books. And Srila Prabhupada says that his direct instruction supersedes the books. More

A Simple Matter Srila Prabhupada's designation and then appointment of Officiating Acharyas - what he later approved of as Ritvik representatives of the Acharya - was simply his naming the natural relationship between the men he deputed to initiate on his behalf, himself and the balance of the devotees. His referring to them as such - did not create anything new or artificial; just the opposite. He was simply providing a clear name to an already existing function... More

Longtime Devotee Needs Living-Donor Transplant In a fast-evolving turn of events, Shyamasundar das is in need of a liver transplant. His liver has a very large tumor and must be replaced if he is to survive. Shyamasundar prabhu was initiated in January 1967 in San Francisco. He carved the original Jagannath deities still worshipped in Berkeley, as well as three other sets. More

The Pirates of Vrindaban Over the past several years I have seen occasional tirades launched by our God-brother Nrisimhanada das against the two brothers of Vrindavana, our God-brothers Shriman Brahmananda das and Shriman Gargamuni das. Nrisimhanada characterizes the younger of the two in an apparently derogatory fashion, calling him "Gargamoney." In fact, "Gargamoney" was the affectionate nickname Shrila Prabhupada gave to the then-newly initiated Gregory Scharf, around 1967. More

Part in relation to the whole Prabhupada could see everyone as he was, a part in relation to the whole. We're like screws to the part, separate from the machine. The self-realized soul can see "This part belongs here." More

"My books will live forever" Early one morning in the late part of 1974, at Bhaktivedanta Manor, I was called to Srila Prabhupada's room. Prabhupada was sitting on his bed, I was sitting on the floor. He asked me if I would accept his appointing me to act as a BBT trustee. More

It is all your mercy Prabhupada laughed and said once Shyamasundar arranged to have him picked up at Heathrow airport (London) and flown to the Manor at Letchmore Heath. More

Sweet balls In the early days of ISKCON, when there were hardly more than 30 devotees in all, there was a constant strain over prasadam consumption. More

Unified Mission The Hare Krishna movement roared across America, Western Europe and Australia like an express locomotive in the late 1960’s and 70’s. More

Attention North American Temples: Role of the GBC This misrepresentation of the mandate given the GBC by Srila Prabhupada has been the very essence of each and every single act of mismanagement by the GBC since 1977. More

Prison Food Too Good to Leave Inmates of an Indian prison are reportedly refusing to apply for bail because the food is so good. More

Inmates Appreciate Bhagavad-gita As It Is I requested inmates, who regularly write to me, to write down a few lines about how they received the 1st copy of Bhagavad Gita As It Is and what they learned from the Bhagavad Gita and what are their favorite verses. More

Teeny Tiny Dhritarashtras Serving the divine lotus feet of the Sri Paramhamsa Guru Maharaja is different than comandeering his gaddi. More

Which things are topsy turvy? I would like to introduce my self, my name is Haripada das, I am from Spain, I am doing book distribution for 25 years around the world, also I help also to distribute prasad in Sri Vrindavana Dhama for many years. More

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ISKCON Reform vs Revolution If ISKCON were reformable there would be some merit in the disenfrachised becoming enthused about the possibility of fixing the BBT, re-establishing Gurukula, enacting DOM, etc. However, the 30+ year "actual" record shows that no amount of commentary, contention, conflict and speculative debate by the disenfranchised has brought about any measurable degree of reform. More

Back in 1978, Pradyumna Foretold What has Befallen ISKCON Dear Satsvarupa Maharaj, Please accept my most humble obeisances. Maharaj, I am writing you this letter with GREAT anxiety in my heart and after days and days and long nights of thought and careful consideration. More

Misrepresenting ISKCON We recently got hold of the name card of one Mani Bushan das, who represents himself to be “Head Priest” at 70-1 Jln Awan Jawa, Taman Yarl, Old Klang Road, 58200 Kuala Lumpur. This is the address for the Society for Krishna Consciousness, Malaysia’s branch of ISKCON, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Sure enough, there on the card is the ISKCON logo, as well as the Hare Krishna mantra, though no mention of the Society’s name. More

Krishna Conscious Social System At the present moment, the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya, in the Parampara of Srila Bhaktivinode has failed to understand the mandate for Varnashram sysnthesis with Bhakti-yoga and, as such, cannot be considered a fully articulated "Spiritual Culture". Due to neglect of essential Varnashram Teachings and the influence of the modes of nature, this portion of the Sampradaya has succumbed to the Western system of separating spirituality and religion from all other areas of life. In this system, the Church, Mosque, Synagogue or Temple is a place where God is captured to be displayed on Sunday, while the rest of the week is spent in fruitive work and material sense gratification. More

Re: Hoy to tai Jai Srila Prabhupada. Thought I would submit my views on the poison issue, and to make a request regarding the BBT court case, and the poison issue remain separate at this time. The BBT must be restored first, then finally establish the DOM. These things alone will cure most of the ills plaguing Srila Prabhupada's mission. More

Passing of Suhotra Prabhu It is with great sadness that we have to announce the departure of His Grace Suhotra Prabhu from this world. More

Practical Advice on Breeding Cows I found myself getting upset when I read recent posts about cows in devotee communities. It's too bad that after all these years the devotees can't learn from their mistakes with cows. More

Thanks for the Video I remember reading somewhere that Srila Prabhupada mentioned that any melody is acceptable for chanting the Holy Name. However I find that the original melody and rhythm is the easiest for everyone to follow. More

Hare Krishna at Times Square Here is a link to the video of the Times Square Harinam on Saturday night which Locanananda spoke of. It's very amazing, alot of people on the streets join in to chant and dance, especially now that we have a mantra sign alot of people follow along. More

Report from Times Square In our Times Square Harinam Sankirtana party, about 90% of our chanting is the Mahamantra, and about 90% of our chanting of the Mahamantra is Prabhupada's tune, the tune he would always chant in public. The public seems to be very familiar with this tune. It is easy to learn and allows the chanter to instantly experience transcendental ecstasy. More

Call to Arms in New York
Join Hasti Dayananda das Fri-Sunday, March 16th-18th on harinam sankirtan, Union Square in New York. More

Call to Arms in Toronto Join Hasti Gopal das this Sunday, March 11th on harinam sankirtan, Buckhorn (north of Toronto) at noon. More

Focus on Sankirtan Now that we’ve discussed matters a bit, let’s strategize on how to increase sankirtana in North America, as Das says, voluntarily, no force. I suggest we plan and do something as an expression of our shared love for Prabhupada. More

7 Purposes of ISKCON I would think that the meaning of "manifesto" - "A public declaration of principles, policies, or intentions, especially of a political nature." (Websters dictionary) - for ISKCON is PERFECTLY expressed by His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada in his original Articles of Incorporation in 1966... More

Articles of Incorporation - ISKCON We, the undersigned, for the purpose of forming a corporation pursuant to the Religious Corporation Law of the State of New York, do hereby make, subscribe and acknowledge this certificate as follows... More

New, Revised ISKCON Manifesto (Completed this Gaura Purnima, AD 2007, by your unworthy servants, Nara Narayan das Vishwakarma and Srimate Amadea devi dasi praying at the feet of their godbrothers to join together and bring this thing to pass) More

Origin of the Hare Krishna Movement Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Great Apostle of love of God and the Father of the Sankirtan Movement, advented Himself in the City of Nabadwipa in Bengal, India. This was in February, 1486, by Christian reckoning. More

Radio Krishna Centrale Dear devotees and friends, Hare Krishna! Welcome to the news from Tele Radio Krishna Network portal, 2 times in a year. Thank you for visiting so much our website, we are now over 1.500.000 pages view. More

Plans for Mayapur Temple Revealed Ambarisa told the GBC that it had been an amazing year for the core team of himself, Sadbhuja Prabhu, and Bhavananda Prabhu. They made incredible progress on the design, and the cosmology, legal, and vastu aspects. The new plan is thirty stories high. More

Heart Disease My suggestion is, if you actually have the legal strength and certainty of sucess, and the nescessary financial backing to win over their position in a legal conflict, then I would advance in that way , like a BLITZKRIEG. When they see themselves checkmated, you can still talk, with the added force of legal consequences behind what you say. More

Appeal for Donations to Bring Prabhupada to Istanbul I wish to beg you to help us by whatever means you can. Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhu, who serves in Vrindavan by making wounderful murtis for our temples, has offered us a life size form of Srila Prabhupada for a reduced donation of just 1,800 dollars, not much to get Srila Prabhupada to come to your center. With the cost of packing & transport we can keep this donation down to 2,000 dollars. More

Srila Prabhupada's Arrangement Stands Your statement "Well, let's see what Srila Prabhupada arranges" is just fictitious imagination. What Srila Prabhupada arranged STANDS. Nothing anyone can do or say can change this. Hansadutta is the Trustee for Srila Prabhupada. NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS ABOUT IT. Do you think Srila Prabhupada is going to "Pop out of a Pillar" and show us the Light and the Way - with Big Neon Lights "Hans is my Man"? More

Mistake After Mistake Prabhupada told us, very clearly and on a number of occasions, that one does not get justice in the courts. Hansadutta Prabhu wrote me a number of letters over the years confirming the same point, out of his personal experience fighting in the courts that there is no justice. More

The Solution is to Print Books My feeling, and my suggestions to Hansadutta Prabhu also from the very beginning, was not to spend huge amounts of money in the courts but instead to spend the money on printing Prabhupada's original books. If you fight in the courts it should be to fight to justify printing the books that you have printed. But the BBT will not take you to court for this because they can not win. More

Legitimacy of the Quest at Question Answer me this one question—don't skip this question—"Do you accept Hansadutta Das AKA HANS KARY as the legitimate TRUSTEE - in the eyes of His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada - of the Bhaktiviedanta Book Trust - and in no way inimical to the beneficiary of the Trust, the International Society for Krsna Consciousness? Your answer is keenly important. I do not want legalese. It is first and foremost a spiritual question. More

Courting the BBT Prabhus, the BBT is authorized, the BBT trustee is authorized. Will you also now, like ISKCON, attempt to bypass the trustee and take it over? More

Facing Srila Prabhupada If we consider everything from the perspective of having to enter Srila Prabhupada's room and explain our actions, what should be done appears a little clearer. More

No Other Recourse Ultimately, what is the substance of legal directives and legal maneuvers? Where does it all lead to in the end? The men in position today in ISKCON are basically entrenched. Whoever is there is just there, doing whatever they’re doing. Prabhupada gave the Direction of Management, a legal document, but even if the court were to give the order to enforce it, who would replace the managers there now? More

The Situation in Kazakhstan I don't know what's going on, but it seems like a case of what the last writer described, arrogance of immature ISKCON leadership. Like when they went ahead and renovated the temple for a restaurant without ever securing license and other permits for resturant operation. More

Letter to the Kazakhstan President I have followed all the hoopla in relation to Kazakstan and the devotees there. The devotees themselves are nice enough. But the entire affair has been handled incorrectly from the git-go. From the way they secured the land up to the manner in which they are now "attacking" in public the authority of the goverment. More

What's Missing? “Two heads are better than one.” When a person has a legal or medical problem, he goes to a lawyer or doctor, but if the lawyer or doctor handed the client/patient a law or medical book to solve his problem, what do you think would happen to his PRACTICE? We need person Bhagavats who can prescribe the appropriate treatment for the individual according to time, place and circumstance. More

I am the Vine I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. More

Against Our Principle Where is the question of salary? Where is vairagya, renouncement? So in all circumstances the salary process should be stopped. One who wants salary, he can work outside. More

Wages for Sages In their attempt to justify, at least in their own minds, the chicanery that has gone on in the name of "financial managament" throughout the institution post 1977, they now consider themselves "so valuable" to Srila Prabhupada's movement that they can disobey his instructions— myriad instructions—on the matter of salaried employees of The Corporation. More

The Authorized Oath of Allegiance I, the said Mr. So and So, both names, do hereby swear in the name of Krishna that I will bear true faith and alliance to the constitution, by-laws, rules, regulations and directions which,"—and this has been added—"which have been given, including four regulative principles..." More

A Blueprint for Fixing ISKCON: Why are We Ganging Up on Dhanurdhara Swami? Many times I have been told that I had to keep the scandals in ISKCON to myself, if things would be known devotees would lose faith in Prabhupada's movement. Today I have come to the conclusion that with my silence I am an accomplice to the problem. Because scandals in ISKCON have been covered up people have lost faith in the movement. I believe that failure to report a crime is itself a crime. More

The Situation Now After 29 Years The acharya, the authorized representative of the Supreme Lord, establishes these principles, but when he disappears, things once again become disordered. The perfect disciples of the acharya try to relieve the situation by sincerely following the instructions of the spiritual master. More

Orchestra Needs a Conductor—Just One There must be one conductor, then many can play various themes on the main theme and be harmoniously conducted by one conductor. The important point is the ONE CONDUCTOR THROUGH WHOSE DIRECTION HARMONY IS MAINTAINED. More

Sudden Departure of Bhaktisvarup Damodar Swami It is with great regret and lamentation that we announce the sudden departure of Sripad Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami at approximately 12:15 AM Kolkata time, October 2nd, 2006, in Kolkata India. Sripad Maharaja, as he was affectionately known by his followers, was sixty-nine years old. More

India Floodwaters Claim Granddaughter of Hare Krishna Founder-Acharya With great regret the Mayapur management wishes to inform the community of devotees about the disappearance of Srimati Gauri dasi, the granddaughter of Srila Prabhupada, her three years old daughter Yamunangi, and her brother-in-law, Sriman Sri Hari dasa. More

Srila Prabhupada's Grand-daughter Leaves this World in Mayapur Flood Sujitendriya Prabhu, long time Mayapur gurukuli; Sri Hari Prabhu, his elder brother and the president of a temple in ISKCON Bangladesh; Sujitendriya Prabhu's wife, who is the grand-daughter of Srila Prabhupada; and Sujitendriya Prabhu's eldest daughter were on the boat. The road between Hularghat and Yogapitha is flooded and there was very, very strong current. The boat capsized. In that saddest event, Sujitendriya Prabhu's wife, his elder brother, and his daughter drowned and left this world. More

You cannot make a devotee Bhagavatam says Krishna is the cause and the effect, the Absolute Truth. Illogical, beyond logic. Only if Krishna reveals Himself, then you can become Krishna conscious. You cannot be Krishna conscious by your own endeavor... More

1974 Recording I just wanted to say I found one of your old records the other day in a London market. In perfect condition. The one with Radharani on the cover. More

Don't Miss the Opportunity It is my duty to satisfy guru. Otherwise I am nowhere. So if you prefer to be nowhere, then you disobey as you like. But if you want to be steady in your position, then you have to follow strictly the instruction of guru. More

Moscow Authorities Approve Krishna Temple The city government in Moscow has agreed to allot land for the construction of a Krishna temple, ending a longstanding controversy over whether Hindus should have a place of worship in the Russian capital, The Hindu newspaper reports. More

Land, cow, man and God What gold is to minerals, milk is to food. LAND, COW, MAN and GOD. Simple living, high thinking (LAND, COW, MAN, GOD). More

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No other function Every day it becomes more clear and unmistakably evident that each one of us disciples of Prabhupada have no function other than to glorify him by broadcasting the message he imparted unto us by words, deeds and most of all, books. More

If Everyone Manufactures... Everything, everyone belongs to Krishna's family, but we have to see what he's doing for Krishna. Just like everyone is citizen of the state. Why a man is given high position and big title? Why? Because he's recognized. More

Loose Screws Anything that is not Krishna is not Krishna and will eventually dry up and fall away. Everyone is born with certain inclinations or propensities, and has to act on them. Just like Arjuna. He was a warrior, and his business was killing, and that’s what Krishna asked of him. By dovetailing our propensities in devotional service to Krishna, they become purified. More

Love and Trust The only thing that has power, potency, substance is spiritual realization. Outside that is only endless hairsplitting and legal wrangling, none of which produces anything. Mechanical adherence to legal technicalities doesn’t give us a freeway. On the other hand, when there’s love and trust–whether legal or not–there is potency. More

A History of Hare Krishna in Russia The four days visit of Srila Prabhupada to Moscow in 1971 miraculously brought many changes to that country of atheism. During his visit he discussed philosophy with Professor Kotovsky, a Soviet scholar of Hinduism, but most significantly met with one young, educated Russian boy who later became his first and only initiated disciple from the Soviet Union, Ananda Shanti. More

For Russia, With Love The campaign is set to unveil a devastating saga spanning nearly four decades in which Russian Hindus are alleged to have been variously vilified by the Soviet state, the Russian Orthodox church, Russian Islamist and Jewish leaders and far-right nationalist politicians such as Vladimir Zhirinovsky. More

Debate Means Consequences ...Debate means there must be some consequences of loss or win, like in a prize fight. In Vedic times the looser would become the disciple of the winner, along with all his disciples. More

Debate ...Then he said, "Gaudiya Vaisnavas, they don't engage in argumentation and debate." So Uttamasloka said, "Yes, Lord Chaitanya argued with Prakasananda." More

Srila Prabhupada's Temple in Bangalore Spread over 8 acres of land atop a hill, in the heart of Bangalore is ISKCON's largest temple complex in the world. Also known as the Hare Krishna Hill, this is home to 5 temples of various forms of Lord Krishna: Sri Sri Radha Krishna-Chandra, Sri Krishna Balarama, Sri Nitai Gauranga, Sri Prahlada Narasimha and Sri Srinivasa Govinda. More

The historical perspective... We must not allow ourselves, this Krishna consciousness movement, to be equated with or drawn into the same arena with Islam, Judaism, Christianity, etc. as if all are on the same playing field. More

Amalgamation of the Four Sampradayas In this agreement the four sadhu sampradayas (Nimbark, Nirvani, Nirmohi and Mahanirvani) affirm their dedication to the leadership established by the Govindaji, Madan Mohanji, Gopinathji and Damodarji Mandirs. They will accept absolutely the authority of the followers of Rupa and Sanatan. More

Without the self-realized soul at its head... When the Acharya comes, he gathers around him so many people, but they're bringing their own baggage and cannot prevail. It seems to be the rule that a collection of disciples can go only so far before there's an overwhelming of their past. More

Why Did Bhaktivinoda Thakur Take Shelter in a Bhajan Kutir at Purushottama? Then by the influence of time, a sudden change took place. The glow-wormlike superstitions that were hidden in the scorching heat of the sun of Vaishnavism suddenly took various forms and came from four directions. The demoniac religious principle in the form of Mayavada, which was immersed within the deep water of forgetfulness for some time, again surfaced in the form of discourses, taking shelter of the boat of the smarta teachers. More

Eight Prayers in Separation from My Spiritual Master The following is an offering of eight prayers to Srila Prabhupada's spiritual master, His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur, composed sometime in December, 1958. More

Manifesto—International Society for Krishna Consciousness Consciousness is a movement aiming at the spiritual reorientation of mankind through the simple process of chanting the holy names of God. More

Allen Ginsberg with Srila Prabhupada "...have all been thinking what form of religious practice, what form of simple meditation exercises could be set forth in America that could be adopted by a great, great, great, great many people on a large scale. We haven't solved the problem. One thing I've noticed is that the Krishna temples have spread and are firmly rooted and solidly based. There are a number of them now. So that really is a very solid root. So I think that will continue." More

The Letter He Didn't Ask Me to Write As did many of you, I followed Bhakti-Tirtha Swami's illness from its inception last year until his recent demise. During that time, I began to reflect on what meaning could be drawn from his condition. My first thoughts focused on BTS's personal conclusion that his cancer had resulted from his recent prayer, wherein, in the mood of Vasudeva-datta, he'd requested Srila Prabhupada to let him accept the sins of the conditioned souls to relieve them of their suffering. More

ISKCON Prison Ministry — Letter from India ...the superintendent told us that "Since you have started these programs, the jail has become very peaceful, we don't have many fights, and they are doing their work very enthusiastically." More

ISKCON Prison Ministry — Letters from Inmates Prabhupada: Everyone should be expert. The leaders must be expert and the worker must be expert so that they may follow the instruction of the leader. If the leader says something and the workers, "Hm, I shall consider it, later on," then how the leader will execute his leadership? Both of them should be cooperating and know that "We are all working for Krishna." More

Equal Opportunity, Equal Importance Prabhupada: Everyone should be expert. The leaders must be expert and the worker must be expert so that they may follow the instruction of the leader. If the leader says something and the workers, "Hm, I shall consider it, later on," then how the leader will execute his leadership? Both of them should be cooperating and know that "We are all working for Krishna." More

ISKCON Prison Ministry ISKCON Prison Ministry has been giving Krishna consciousness to the inmates of prisons all over the world for over 18 years. Candrasekhara dasa heads this ministry, which started as a way for him to preach as a householder. Responding to hundreds of letters and inquiries every year, he has kept the ministry going all these years, through many difficulties and with very little help. More

Moscow Temple Plans Under Threat The local government had allocated land, and after a number of designs were put forward, a last one was agreed. Without warning at the beginning of this month, the mayor of Moscow, Mr Luzhkov, has withdrawn the government's decision to allocate land for the temple construction. Also, he has issued an order of eviction to remove the devotees from the land. More

Constitution of Association The objectives for which the Society is being established are: (A) To educate the greater human society in the techniques of spiritual life as the basis for a balanced psychic and biological development, and thereby achieve for the first time in human society a real peace and unity among the contending forces in the world today. More

The basis of spiritual association… Prabhupada warned us not to associate with one another on the basis of love, friendship and society. We left that behind when we came to Prabhupada. What would be the use of recreating it now? More

Better to Light a Candle than to Curse the Darkness Therefore Srila Bhaktisiddhanta said "Without the self-realized soul at its head, the institution (for preaching) is hijacked by PUTANAS, who use the spiritual institution for their own nefarious ends, from which even common criminals are said to recoil." It is our responsibility to distinguish the genuine spiritual life from the perverted reflection. More

Talk with Gurukulis Like in a family business, when the father gets old and dies, if the sons and daughters don't take it up, the business will disintegrate. It will either go bankrupt or it has to be sold out to some outside party. So the whole estate is waiting for you, the Gurukula generation. You have to want to do it. More

Iron Law of Oligarchy In 1977 the founder of the movement was near passing away. Prabhupada requested his followers to be with him. Several GBC members, present at the time, minimized the request and discouraged others from coming. More

He Died for Our Sins? HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami's professing the "opposite" mentality - that in actuality - his suffering was not caused by his own actions - OR the mercy of Krsna - is opposed to our philosophy and the teachings of our Acharyas. It is invention of the worst kind. What it will yield in terms of further concoction is also anyone's guess. More

It Must Continue This exalted name "Bhaktivedanta" must not end with Shrila Prabhupada. It must continue. Narada Muni was a Bhaktivedanta, and we are in line from him, by Prabhupada's divine grace. There must be a school, exactly as Prabhupada devised, to continue this Bhaktishastri, BhaktiBhaibhava, etc. program for thousands of years. More

Followers of Bhaktivedanta I think I do understand what you mean, but I never thought of the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS the way you have explained the meaning "Many Bhaktivedantas". I don't think people in general will have that understanding, but rather will understand that this is a group of followers of BHAKTIVEDANTA. More

Minimizes Srila Prabhupada's title "Bhaktivedantas" is like "Christs", a collection of Christs; it is not like "Christians", which means a group of followers of Christ. That is my realisation and my understanding of the way things are used in the English language. That is the reason it annoys me greatly because it minimizes Srila Prabhupada's title "Bhaktivedanta." Instead of one Bhaktivedanta and his followers now we have hundreds of Bhaktivedantas. That is why I am annoyed by it. More

Belonging to Bhaktivedanta Swami According to your logic and reasoning, the devotees also should not call themselves the HARE KRISHNAS because hare means the energy of Krishna (THE COMPLETE ENERGY), which no one can claim to be, and Krishna means the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which they or anyone cannot claim to be. More

A group of people who all have the title of "Bhaktivedanta"? "The Bhaktivedantas" means a group of Bhaktivedantas. Like scientists means a group of scientists or scholars means a group of scholars or astrologers means a group of astrologers. So when you say "Bhaktivedantas", naturally people will assume you mean a group of people who all have the title of "Bhaktivedanta". More

Followers of A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada We do not mean to suggest or imply that everyone (rubber stamping) is automatically entitled to use the "Bhaktivedanta" designation as his or her TITLE for prestigious identity, but rather that those devotees who wish to distinguish themselves from the common identity of HARE KRISHNAS being used by many non-Prabhupada followers and who want to identify themselves as being followers of HIS DIVINE GRACE A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI PRABHUPADA exclusively may go by the name BHAKTIVEDANTAS. More

Bhaktivedantas is a very exalted platform History shows that Prabhupada did not confer this title of "Bhaktivedanta" on any of his disciples. He wanted them to all become qualified by 1972. But they did not become qualified. That is the history. He still wants us to become Bhaktivedantas. But it is not a rubber stamp. It is a qualification that has to be attained. More

Go Die Somewhere Else The latest kick in your face from ISKCON: "Go die somewhere else. Thank you very much for your life-long service to ISKCON and Srila Prabhupada and Krishna, but go die somewhere else." More

Hierarch, Hierarchy and You Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur was the last Hierarch or Acharya, and those in his service were placed by him in a hierarchy called the Gaudiya Math. But failing to carry out his final order to form a GBC, they drifted out of their place in his hierarchy. Subsequently, Srila Prabhupada (His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) picked up the essence of this order and acted alone to carry it out. More

Srila Prabhupada, His Movement and You "All of my disciples are leaders, as much as they follow purely. If you want to follow, you can also lead. But you don't want to follow. Leader means one who is a first class disciple. Evam param parapraptam. One who is following is perfect." More

Do As Srila Prabhupada Would Do—We are Already United What would Prabhupada think? What would Prabhupada say? What would Prabhupada do? More

ISKCON is Like the Ganges ISKCON flows down from Goloka Vrindavan through the mighty mountain peaks of the great acharyas, through His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and his disciples who appear to be merged into the mainstream of the human society for preaching Krishna consciousness and who are all destined to go back to Godhead. More

The Hare Krishna Explosion Although at first we called him "Swamiji," we eventually changed to the more respectful "Prabhupada," a Sanskrit word meaning "one who takes shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna." "This is the proper form of addressing the spiritual master," he humbly suggested one day. Somehow the strange word rang true, and from then on it was always "Prabhupada," a word that conjured for us the omnipotent Lord Sri Krishna Himself. More

Fresh Milk, Sour Milk Pure, fresh milk cannot convert sour milk to again become fresh milk. The fresh milk of Srila Prabhupada's instructions is all that is nescessary for anyone's spiritual life. A small addition of sour (Non-Prabhupada, sour milk) will spoil everything. More

Undone from Within Here is a quote that points out very directly the most basic, underlying problem that plagues ISKCON today. More

Crowd Mentality Read this book, understand THE CROWD MENTALITY. ISKCON is a CROWD; it is not a MOVEMENT. It is constipated, not moving. More

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Table of Contents

The Bhaktivedantas Inside Nam Hatta - Society of Devotees — Disciples of Srila Prabhupada/