Many of us have, at some point, come in contact with the following quote: “Watch your thoughts, for they become words, Watch your words, for they become actions, Watch your actions, for they become habits, Watch your habits, for they become character, Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” Unknown ________________________ Are we not […]
1. There’s more to life than this: Sad to say, but like Buddhism, which came later, and many other traditions of spiritual wisdom, the Vedas are quite pessimistic about the prospect of us ever quite reaching nirvana through shopping or sex. Material nature – the stuff that surrounds us – is organised in such a way […]
Those who are spiritually advanced love to serve others. Bhakti-yoga, the path of devotional mysticism, in fact, is all about devotional “service.” This refers, chiefly, to serving Krishna, God (call Him/Her what you will), in a mood of love and devotion. But its implications go further than that. Krishna is all that is, and so […]
As we begin to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of the appearance of Sri Krishna Chaitanya (in March 1986), many people who have never heard the name Chaitanya (and perhaps even some who have never heard the name Krishna) will ask, “Who is Krishna Chaitanya, and what is His significance?” If we turn to academic sources […]
If we look back into Vedic history we will probably find many incidents that contravene modern-day standards of human rights and discrimination. If say, a liberal human rights monitor group were to go back 5,000 years to observe human conduct as portrayed in the Mahabharata for example, they would likely report negatively to the UN […]
We never cease to be amazed or shocked. Thinking that nothing really surprises us anymore, the shock-value of what could happen to us, intrudes impolitely into our sense of peace and harmony, when fellow devotees are struck by sudden death, earthquakes, accidents, illness and coma. Krishna’s ability to astonish us in ways not easily understood […]
[vodpod id=Video.5525386&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] Recently, I was asked to explain the benefits of kirtan to the owner of a yoga school who was considering organizing a kirtan concert. My response was that in kirtan people experience:
If crying is the preserve of advanced devotees steeped in devotional mellows, should it bother us to display a show of apparent weakness, by crying for Krishna? Shedding tears in lamentation, as a plea for sympathy, as ostentatious syrupy hype or as a tantrum disguised as frustration, can all be good enough reasons not to […]
In my question which forms the title of this blog, I am using the word “religious” to indicate a person who is only a “part time devotee”, or whose practice of Krishna consciousness is sort of on the back burner—only one of many interests. It is important to think about this for both a new […]
Faculty Lecture at Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma, Nigeria, by Bhakti Vasudeva Swami — June 2010. First, I thank the Vice Chancellor of this university for giving us the opportunity to be able to meet with all of you! Second, I would like to thank the Dean of the Faculty of Arts for creating an avenue […]
