“Religion means to know God and to love him.” – Srila Prabhupada
An exercise will help you discover where you stand in your relationship with Krishna/God:
Open your mind’s eye. Now visualize a screen/board and draw a vertical line - the line of struggle. (Figure 1).
The space on the left of the line denotes ‘No…
“For man, the mind is the cause of bondage and the mind is the cause of liberation. Mind absorbed in sense objects is the cause of bondage, and the mind detached from the sense objects is the cause of liberation.” – Amrita-Bindu Upanishad (Mantra 2)
I was now ready for tracking yoga, writing, and hearing Srila…
“The living entities in this conditioned world are My eternal fragmental parts. Due to conditioned life, they are struggling very hard with the six senses, which include the mind.” - Bhagavad Gita (15.7)
Habits unknown to us
I wanly said I have no habits as if I had resigned myself to being inadequate and unable to…
“Every disciple should always remain busy in some work for Krishna. We shall not allow our mind to remain vacant, and if the mind is always filled up with Krishna consciousness activities, there is no chance of Maya to sit on the mind and force us to act under her spell.” - Srila Prabhupada (Letter to…
“Krishna consciousness movement is meant to save human society from spiritual death.” – Srila Prabhupada
6. Experience journal
Since the last time you wrote a journal, what was the most touching experience you went through?
I once saw a badly mashed vehicle, and an ambulance taking the accident victims away. I soon got busy and…
“Anyone who is steady in his determination for the advanced stage of spiritual realization and can equally tolerate the onslaughts of distress and happiness is certainly a person eligible for liberation.” (Srila Prabhupada, purport to Bhagavad Gita 2.15)
‘I am not comfortable writing’
As kids some of us had teachers who forced us to write…
“We must chant with the proper service attitude – not demanding love of God, but chanting for Krishna's pleasure.”
– Radhanath Swami
Krishna dasa does the needful on his various roles, and then sits to chant. For him, chanting is important but not the first thing in the morning. He confessed that during his initial…
Journal with Krishna
Many people journal regularly but stay stuck in their negative beliefs. That’s because they are unable to access the deep, spiritual layers within themselves.
Usually we write about what’s happening in our lives. We improve awareness of our own inner state; we dive deep into our experiences; and we express gratitude for…
However, when I spend time with Krishna, mind’s crafty schemes are not necessarily checkmated. He is biding his time, and would pounce on me at the least expected moment. He is determined to keep me in the external world, and he does that with myriad thoughts. But the more attentive I am in my Krishna…
“…..After capturing animals, a cunning hunter does not put faith in them, for they might run away. Similarly, those who are advanced in spiritual life do not put faith in the mind. Indeed, they always remain vigilant and watch the mind's action.” – Shrimad Bhagavatam (5.6.2)
Just as a lover feels unloved in a relationship,…
He fell asleep and in his dream goddess Saraswati appeared and said, “You are very fortunate today. You had the darshan of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna who has mercifully appeared as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is the source of brahman and paramatma; He is Bhagavan! He is even my Lord. Whatever knowledge…
Nimai said, “Yes, Oh revered scholar. I am a new student whereas you are a seasoned champion. Therefore I am not showing flaws and instead asking you only to point out the flaws.”
Again the Pandit snarled, “You think you are better than me? Have you studied alankara- the way I have studied and mastered…