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ISKCON Authority: Where Did It Originally Come From?
(And Where Does “ISKCON” Power Come From?) By Kailāsa Candra dāsa HARIḤ OM NAMAḤ We find the following excerpt from an important room conversation between His Divine Grace Śrila Prabhupāda and members of his Governing Body Commission at the Krishna-Balaram temple on May 28, 1977 in Vṛndāvan, India: Leading Secretary (1): The people who they give dīkṣā to, whose disciple are they? Prabhupāda: They’re his disciple. Leading Secretary (1): They’re his disciple. Prabhupāda: Who is initiating. He is grand disciple. Leading Secretary (2): Yes. Leading Secretary (1): That’s clear. Leading Secretary (2): Then, we have a question . . . Prabhupāda (interrupting): When I order, “You…
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Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma Meet the Inhabitants of Vṛndāvana
Kṛṣṇa Book, Chapter 82 Once upon a time, when Lord Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were living peacefully in Their great city of Dvārakā, there was a great occasion of full covering solar eclipse, as it takes place at the end of every kalpa, or one day of Lord Brahmā. At the end of every kalpa the sun becomes covered by great cloud, and the incessant rain covered the lower planetary system up to Svargaloka. As usual, by astronomical calculation people was informed about this great eclipse prior to its taking place. Therefore, all men and women decided to assemble at the holy place of Kurukṣetra known as Samanta-paṣcaka. The Samanta-paṣcaka…
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Review of Branding Bhakti
Pranams. Jaya Srila Prabhupada! Religious studies academics are prone to the same weakness in relation to the religious institutions they examine as media organizations covering government. It becomes far too easy to trade objectivity for ease of access to official information. At worst the reporter or academic becomes “embedded” and more or less acts as the mouthpiece of the state or institution. The journalist I.F. Stone said, “All governments lie,” and religious institutions are not that different. The author of Branding Bhakti, Nicole Karapanagiotis, PhD., is also relatively young and therefore more dependent on previous scholarship on the ISKCON institution (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) which was founded in 1966.…
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God Speaks (and Firmly Refutes Impersonalism)
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Bhagavad-gita 2.12, Hyderabad, November 17, 1972 Prabhupāda: na tv evāhaṁ jātu nāsaṁ na tvaṁ neme janādhipāḥ na caiva na bhaviṣyāmaḥ sarve vayam ataḥ param (BG 2.12) Kṛṣṇa is giving more enlightenment on the living entity, soul. “Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” Now, Kṛṣṇa says that, “In the past I existed. So also you. And so also all these soldiers and the kings who have assembled in this fighting. They existed in the past. For the present, there is no question of asking . .…
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Bank of America belongs to you?
Srila Prabhupada speaks on the absurdity of material enjoyment (criminality) and renouncement (madness). Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 02.03.20-21, Los Angeles Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) Just do over that . . . on page 155, text 20, read over the verse and then read the purport. Prabhupāda: No, one more . . . chant the verse. Pradyumna: (leads chanting of verse) bile batorukrama-vikramān ye na śṛṇvataḥ karṇa-puṭe narasya jihvāsatī dārdurikeva sūta na copagāyaty urugāya-gāthāḥ (SB 2.3.20) (break) (Līlāvatī chants) Prabhupāda: That’s all. You have . . . word meanings are recited? Pradyumna: Yes, we…
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“Because People Must Be First of All Gentle”
Srila Prabhupada Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.13, September 18, 1972, Los Angeles Prabhupāda: Hare Kṛṣṇa. (sings of Jaya Rādhā-Mādhava) (prema-dhvani) Thank you very much. Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (obeisances) Prabhupāda: Recite. Pradyumna: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Canto One, Chapter 3, text 13. (leads chanting of verse) (Prabhupāda and devotees repeat) aṣṭame merudevyāṁ tu nābher jāta urukramaḥ darśayan vartma dhīrāṇāṁ sarvāśrama-namaskṛtam (SB 1.3.13) Prabhupāda: Ladies. (ladies chant) That’s all. Now, word meaning. Pradyumna: aṣṭame—the eighth of the incarnations; merudevyām tu—in the womb of Merudevī, the wife; nābheḥ—of King Nābhi; jātaḥ—took birth; urukramaḥ—the all-powerful Lord; darśayan—by showing; vartma—the way; dhīrāṇām—of the…
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Srila Prabhupada on Who is Guru (and Who is Not!)
Answers to a Questionnaire From Bhavan’s Journal 2, New Vrindavana, June 30, 1976 Excerpt below begins at 33:05 Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Can I ask another question, Śrīla Prabhupāda? Question number nine: “Is a guru essential to one to enter the spiritual path and attain the goal? And how does one recognize one’s guru?” Prabhupāda: Yes. That is explained, that guru is necessary. In the Bhagavad-gītā, when Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna were talking as friend, there was no conclusion. The talking was going on, but no conclusion was made. Therefore Arjuna decided to accept Kṛṣṇa as his guru. Find out this verse: kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ. Hari-śauri: kārpaṇya-doṣopahata-svabhāvaḥ pṛcchāmi tvāṁ dharma-sammūḍha-cetāḥ yac chreyaḥ syān niścitaṁ brūhi…
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Hari Hari Biphale & Purport by Srila Prabhupada
Prabhupāda: (sings) (playing harmonium) Somebody may take karatāla . . . (indistinct) . . . go so far? That is nice? (1) hari hari! bifale janama goṅāinu hari hari! hari bifale janama goṅāinu hari hari! hari bifale janama goṅāinu manuṣya-jīvana pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, manuṣya-jīvana pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu jāniyā śuniyā biṣa manuṣya-jīvana pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, manuṣya-jīvana pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu hari hari! bifale janama goṅāinu hari hari! bifale janama goṅāinu manuṣya-jīvana pāiyā, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nā bhajiyā, jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu jāniyā śuniyā biṣa khāinu hari hari! bifale janama goṅāinu (O Lord Hari, I…
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Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in the 21st Century
(How the ISKCON Institution Came to Give Up Srila Prabhupada’s Absolute Authority) by bhakta Eric Johanson yanra citte krsna-prema karaye udaya tanra vakya, kriya, mudra vijneha na bujhaya “Even the most learned man cannot understand the words, activities and symptoms of a person situated in love of Godhead.” Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita Madhya-lila 23.39 The Bona Fide Spiritual Master In order to understand what is beyond our sense observation and realize the absolute truth we require to come in contact with a person who is already intimately familiar with them. Such a person is called a spiritual master: om ajnana-timirandhasya jnananjana-salakaya caksur unmilitam yena tasmai sri-gurave namah “I offer my respectful…
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Everyone Be Happy!
Prabhupāda: . . . vedic civilization, unless one is inquisitive for the solution of the problems, he is not on the human being standard. Because there are so many problems. The animals cannot inquire, but a man can inquire. So unless one comes to this point, to inquire how these problems can be solved, he’s not developed to human consciousness. He’s still in animal consciousness. Actually, the problem is that . . . what is this human civilization, advanced civilization? They are trying to solve problems. One problem is presented, and they try to solve it. Just like at the present moment they have manufacture atomic bomb, and all the…
