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Today is Sita-navami, the appearance day of Srimati Sitadevi, the eternal consort of Lord Ramachandra. She appeared as the daughter of King Janaka, one of the twelve mahajanas, great authorities in Krishna consciousness, and thus one of her names is Janaki. In Valmiki’s Ramayana, Sita is said to have been discovered in a furrow in a ploughed field believed to now be the city of Sitamarhi in the...

Today is a most auspicious occasion. Mother Arca-vigraha was a very special devotee, and she really gave everything to Srila Prabhupada and Krishna and the devotees. I think of the verse akamah sarva-kamo va, moksa-kama udara-dhih / tivrena bhakti-yogena, yajeta purusam param, that akamah, whether one has no desires; sarva-kamo, or is full of desires; moksa-kama, or is desirous of liberation;...

Today is Earth Day, and I think of a prayer that resonated with me in my youth. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He has founded it on the seas, and established it on the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, or who shall stand in His holy place? He that has clean hands, and a pure heart; who has not lifted up his soul...

The day known as Akshaya-tritiya occurs on the third day (tritiya) of the waxing moon in the month of Vaisakha. Every second of this blessed day is completely auspicious, and so there is no consideration of any one period (muhurta) being better than another. Akshaya means “inexhaustible”—anything a devotee undertakes on the day of Akshaya-tritiya is bound to succeed, especially the performance...

Today is the most auspicious occasion of Sri Gadadhara Pandita’s appearance day. As many of you know, Lord Chaitanya is Krishna Himself in the role of His own devotee. He is Krishna, but with the complexion and in the mood of Srimati Radharani. There are different purposes for the Lord’s advent. The internal reason for Lord Chaitanya’s appearance is that He wanted to experience the glory of...

For Balarama Rasa-yatra, we shall read from Srila Prabhupada’s summary study of the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, called Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead— about Lord Balarama’s visit to Vrindavan after He and Krishna had been away from Vrindavan for many years. In our meditation on the deity of the Lord, we begin from His lotus feet and then gradually progress upward to His ankles,...

We read from Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Two, Chapter Seven: “Scheduled Incarnations.” TEXT 23 asmat-prasada-sumukhah kalaya kalesa   iksvaku-vamsa avatirya guror nidese tisthan vanam sa-dayitanuja avivesa   yasmin virudhya dasa-kandhara artim arcchat TRANSLATION Due to His causeless mercy upon all living entities within the universe, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, along with His plenary...

In 1999 Shyamasundar Prabhu described for ISKCON TV a series of experiences he’d had with George Harrison and with Srila Prabhupada: “Srila Prabhupada treated George Harrison like an old, old friend. I spent some time with George this summer. . . . [He] has reached a very high level of spiritual development, I am happy to say. He chants Hare Krishna every day. And he is totally serene, as he has...

According to tithi, the date on the Vaishnava calendar, today is the disappearance anniversary of His Holiness Sridhar Swami Maharaja, who left his body in Mayapur on Srivasa Pandita's appearance day in 2004. When I think of Maharaja's words "There is no one I love more than Giriraj Swami," my heart melts. You can read about His Holiness Sridhar Swami Maharaja—and Srivasa Pandita—below: Srivasa...