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In celebration of Jagannatha Ratha-yatra, I present "From Snana-yatra to Ratha-yatra". "In the Brahmanda Purana it is said, 'A person who sees the Lord's Ratha-yatra car festival and then stands up to receive the Lord can purge all kinds of sinful results from his body.' A similar statement is there in the Bhavisya Purana, in which it is said, 'Even if born of a lowly family, a person who...

One year on July 4, when I was leaving the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, a large American flag flying in the wind caught my eye, and I was surprised by how happy I felt. I reflected on how fortunate we are to live in a country where we have freedom of religion, and how Srila Prabhupada said, “America has been so good to me to give me money, men—everything. I have no designation that ‘this is my...

Ekadasi is one of the regular celebrations in the Vaishnava calendar. It is observed eleven days after the full moon and eleven days after the new moon of every month. Even in the thirteenth, or leap, month, called adhika-masa, or purusottama-masa, which comes every three years, during which no other festivals are celebrated, Ekadasi is observed. Ekadasi is known as the day of Lord Hari and is...

Srila Prabhupada expressed his appreciation for his father in his dedication to his book Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: “To My Father, Gour Mohan De (1849-1930)—A pure devotee of Krsna, who raised me as a Krsna conscious child from the beginning of my life. In my boyhood ages he instructed me how to play the mrdanga. He gave me Radha-Krsna vigraha to worship, and he gave me...

We are entering the sacred month of Purusottama, which comes once every three years and is said to be three times more potent than Kartik. During this month, devotees increase their chanting and hearing, and in particular they read Chapter 15 of the Bhagavad-gita, “Purusottama-yoga,” daily. In a previous age during the Purusottama Month, Kaundinya Muni repeatedly chanted the following mantra...

“There are very exalted spiritual understandings in Krishna consciousness. They are not fictional, imaginary, or concocted. They are facts, and every devotee can have the privilege to understand and indeed take part in Krishna’s pastimes if he is actually advanced. We should not think that the privilege given to Mother Yasoda is not available to us. Everyone can have a similar privilege. If one...

We shall read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Five, Chapter Eighteen: “The Residents of Jambudvipa Offer Prayers,” from the series of prayers recited by Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimhadeva. Text 8 is a very important prayer, or mantra, and in it many words are repeated, which gives them great emphasis. TEXT 8 om namo bhagavate narasimhaya namas tejas-tejase avir-avirbhava vajra-nakha...

According to the Vaishnava calendar, today is Jayananda Prabhu's disappearance anniversary. The following letters were written by Srila Prabhupada shortly before and after Jayananda dasa’s death on May 1, 1977. To Jayananda dasa, February 26, 1977: This body is today or tomorrow finished. We should not be very much bothered about the body. Trees also live for thousands of years, but that does...