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Currently Browsing: Featured Content
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: Hindi Language
November 2020
823)
How can we distribute our time between hearing and chanting?
822)
How can we increase our determination for waking up in the morning?
June 2020
821)
When an eye for an eye will make everyone blind, why does the Gita teach that?
820)
How do we give up bad habits?
February 2020
819)
How can an introvert practice bhakti when it is so social and public?
January 2020
818)
What does simply living really mean?
817)
Can you explain Brahman and Paramatma realizations in detail?
816)
Is ISKCON’s institutionalized structure an import from Christianity?
815)
When everything is destined how can we have free will?
814)
How can we know that the Deity accepts the bhoga when it remains as it is?
813)
Why do some bad habits stay on despite our devotional practice – how to deal with them?
December 2019
812)
Why does India have such a lofty philosophy and a filthy living conditions?
October 2016
811)
Remembering Srinathji Prabhu – an intellectual, non-patronizing patron of intellectuals
August 2016
810)
The Meaning of Vyasa Puja – “He came, he gave, he conquered”
809)
Does the Bhagavad-gita teach that everything that happens is good?
July 2016
808)
Avatar – Digital, Christian, monistic and bhakti conceptions
June 2016
807)
“Make me dance” – Meditation on Srila Prabhupada’s prayer on beholding the American coastline
May 2016
806)
The dual dimensions of artha (Guest Column in Financial Chronicle)
805)
Seek artha in both its senses – wealth and meaning
February 2016
804)
Was Ravana revenging the dishonor of Shurapanakha by kidnapping Sita?
January 2016
803)
Sugriva: Comfort – Material and Transcendental
802)
Did Draupadi love Karna?
801)
Narada Muni – Not kalah-priya, but krishna-priya
800)
See criticism with a critical eye
799)
How does spiritual sound stimulate and facilitate meditation?
798)
Positive Thinking 35 – Let the IDEA lead to ENERGY
797)
Positive Thinking 34 – No time?
796)
Positive Thinking 33 – Tap the power of meditation
795)
Can we use freewriting in bhakti-yoga?
794)
How can I go about writing in Krishna’s service?
793)
Positive Thinking 32 – PIES – 4 dimensions for all-round well-being
792)
Positive Thinking 31 – Complement diagnosis with prescription
December 2015
791)
Positive Thinking 30 – Faith reveals the integrated beyond the fragmented
790)
Positive Thinking 29 – See the invisible, feel the intangible, achieve the impossible
789)
What are the various levels of bhakti Sri Vishvanatha analyzes in the Gita?
788)
Using jnana in bhakti
787)
When we are speaking at some other organization’s forum, should we adjust or speak the truth?
786)
While sympathizing with outsiders, how to ensure that insiders dont become like outsiders?
785)
What were the most striking experiences of your US preaching tour?
784)
Positive Thinking 28 – Let gratitude energize you
783)
Positive Thinking 27 – Avoid mental viruses
782)
How does the jiva fall to the material world?
781)
Is the Warkari sampradaya personalist or impersonalist?
780)
Positive Thinking 26 – Don’t let the world’s opinions determine your decisions
779)
Positive Thinking 25 – See life as a marathon, not a sprint
778)
Sharing bhakti with a westernized audience
777)
Positive Thinking 24 – Don’t let a wrong definition of success defeat you
776)
Positiive Thinking 23 – Cure the cancer of comparison
775)
Gita chp 13-18 overview – How jnana culminates in bhakti
774)
Positive Thinking 22 – Cherish your uniqueness – avoid comparing with others
773)
Positive Thinking 21 – Go DEEP – Desire Envision Endeavor Pray
772)
If a senior devotee states something factually wrong in a Bhagavatam class what should a junior devotee do?
771)
Positive Thinking 20 – Smart expectations 1- Hotel or Hospital?
770)
Positive Thinking 19 – The six-point ENERGY sutra
769)
Positive Thinking 18 – Bhakti alchemizes our inner world
768)
Positive Thinking 17 – Unearth the treasure within
767)
Positive Thinking 16 – Understanding willpower 3 – Sharpen and strengthen the intelligence
766)
Positive Thinking 15 – Understanding willpower 2 – Potential and actual
765)
If we are getting too many doubts, should we just switch off our intellectual faculty?
764)
If we doubt Krishna’s existence, how can we have faith that he will remove our doubts in future?
763)
Is it ok to be disturbed in our bhakti when some questions don’t get answered?
762)
Positive Thinking 14 – Understanding willpower 1 – Beyond genes, upbringing and association
761)
How did the soul enter during the birth of 100 Kauravas from Gandharis miscarriage?
760)
How can women be encouraged to get a sense of success in their home responsibilities?
759)
Do women-devotees always have to be homemakers?
758)
Were women always housewives in Vedic culture?
757)
Positive Thinking 13 – IDEA at work 2 – Facing reversal after reversal positively
756)
Positive Thinking 12 – IDEA at work 1 – Facing untimely death positively
755)
Positive Thinking 11 – A of Activity – Spiritual vision inspires positive action
754)
Positive Thinking 10 – E of IDEA – Eternal love provides inexhaustible positivity
753)
Positive Thinking 9 – D of IDEA – Divinity underlies the universes order
752)
Positive Thinking 8 – I of IDEA – Understanding our identity boosts our positivity
751)
Positive Thinking 7 Get the IDEA Identity, Divinity, Eternity, Activity
November 2015
750)
How important is truthfulness in bhakti?
749)
Positive Thinking 6 – Don’t just see reality positively – see the positive reality
748)
Positive Thinking 5 – Think positive – think spiritual
747)
Positive Thinking 4 – Thoughts lead to things – and are things
746)
Positive Thinking – 3 Science and positive thinking
745)
Positive Thinking 2 – Understanding the four kinds of thoughts
744)
Positive Thinking 1 – Countering external and internal negativity
743)
Please explain varnashrama, its different types and its relevance in urban settings.
742)
Spiritual sound vibration sometimes feels boring – how to avoid?
741)
Whats wrong with verifying scientifically the material knowledge given in scripture?
740)
How to understand the descriptions of material settings in scriptural pastimes?
739)
Why do the scriptures while narrating pastimes describe the beauty of the female form?
738)
Appreciating Prabhupada’s resourcefulness and sharing his legacy – Prabhupada Disappearance day class
737)
Govardhan Dashakam Meditation – Ten appeals for residence at Govardhan
736)
Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 2 – Verses 5 to 8)
735)
Meditating on the Damodarashtakam: The supreme controller is controlled – and still remains in control (Part 1 – Verses 1 to 4)
734)
Damodarashtakam explained – The Controller is controlled and still remains in control
733)
Damodara Lila – Scientific, Philosophical, Theological and Devotional Analysis
732)
Approach scripture as history described for spiritual elevation, not material precision
731)
Is detachment not included in 64 items of bhakti because it makes one hardhearted?
730)
How can we keep our mind genuine during our daily activities?
729)
If suffering is not because of karma then what is its cause?
728)
Isn’t faultfinding necessary for correcting and benefiting others?
727)
How can we cultivate humility without becoming negatively self-centered?
726)
What is the difference between repentence and self-blame?
October 2015
725)
If our profession indirectly contributes to breaking the regulative principles, what can we do?
724)
If different strategies work in outreach with different people, how can we know in advance how best to share bhakti?
723)
Kurukshetra – Arena of fratricide and reunion
722)
Can devotee-couples avoid having kids to avoid distraction in bhakti?
721)
How can we reconcile being sensitive with Prabhupada’s being rigid?
720)
How to understand statistics that indicate the world is more peaceful than in the past?
719)
Sensitively transforming others’ hearts – Analysis of Lord Chaitanya’s delivering Sarvabhauma
718)
When staying silent amidst injustice is wrong, why did Yudhishthira passively accept the Kauravas’ atrocities?
717)
Is dissatisfaction because of not being able to read scripture regularly good?
716)
Spirituality and Business
715)
All our problems aren’t mental – how to deal with real problems?
714)
LOAD acronym – How work becomes workload
713)
Is it necessary to research our nature?
712)
Is resentment caused by outer events or inner mentality?
711)
How to cooperate joyfully with devotees of radically different natures?
710)
Is being over-intellectual dangerous for devotion?
709)
Should we not do service if we are not pure?
708)
How does hearing a pastime produce an entirely unrelated result?
707)
Does the soul go closer to God during sleep?
706)
How are optimism and pessimism related to the modes?
705)
Why does the Supersoul sanction our unhealthy choices?
704)
How do the soul, Supersoul and nature contribute to action?
703)
How can we convince the mind of truths that are beyond science?
702)
Understanding the scopes of science and spirituality
701)
How does the sound of the holy name penetrate beyond the universe – and other sounds don’t?
700)
Are our present spiritual emotions real or just mental?
699)
How can we avoid being over-concerned about others’ feelings?
698)
Are we karmically responsible for work that later leads to unknowing harmful consequence?
697)
If my boss tells me to do something wrong, who gets the karma – my boss or me?
696)
If charity is a mentality to be cultivated, is automatic monthly donation from ones bank account undesirable?
695)
Are direct bhakti in brahmachari life and indirect bhakti in grihastha life equivalent?
694)
When Bhagavatam focuses on devotion through renunciation, how do we understand Lord Chaitanya’s having grihastha followers and stressing Bhagavatam both?
693)
Grihastha ashrama in bhakti – Shifting the focus from grihastha to ashrama
692)
What to do when the mind overpowers the intelligence?
691)
What does the Gita verse karmany evadhikaraste mean?
690)
How much should sadhaka discriminate between matter and spirit while practicing bhakti?
689)
Is sadhaka’s suffering because of past karma or Krishna’s arrangement?
688)
Amidst life’s storms, does our relationship with Krishna shelter us automatically or do we need to do something special?
687)
Can we live without expectation in relationships?
686)
Our longing for love is perfected in Krishna
685)
When many spiritual paths say they are the best, how to choose our path?
684)
Can we be enthusiastic without being passionate?
683)
To manage the mind, regulate the mind’s diet
682)
Preserving tradition means fulfilling the purpose of the tradition
681)
How to deal with people who don’t want to clarify misunderstandings?
680)
Cooperating among equals
679)
How can we control anger?
678)
GOD acronym – Reconciling human independence with divine omnipotence
677)
What spiritual principles can inspire devotees to live cooperatively?
676)
Increasingly intimate manifestations of Krishna in Mahabharata, Gita, Bhagavatam and Chaitanya Charitamrita
675)
How can we dovetail attraction to fiction in bhakti?
674)
Do we need to hear true spiritual sound to be elevated?
673)
Appreciate the depth and length of our existence to appreciate Krishna’s love
672)
Is there any formula to always appreciate devotees?
671)
How can we practically redirect our emotions towards Krishna?
670)
Do those who die fighting against Krishna attain the spiritual world earlier than those who fight for him?
669)
God proposes, Man Disposes – Understanding Krishna’s failed peace mission
668)
The Quest for Happiness – Collecting the material or recollecting the spiritual?
667)
How does Krishna take away the karma of his devotees?
666)
How can we understand that God is a person?
665)
Does destiny determine how we respond to situations?
664)
Life’s 4 defining D’s: Desire, Decision, Destiny and Dharma
663)
Why is Krishna selectively merciful in inspiring some people to take to bhakti and not others?
662)
How can we help reluctant people to become spiritually elevated?
661)
Tread the path of the ears to the eyes and the heart
660)
RASA acronym for finding rasa in bhakti
659)
How to deal with doubts about God’s existence coming from the study of science?
658)
Prabhupada – dependent on Krishna yet dynamic in service – 50th anniversary address
657)
How to understand that there is life after death?
656)
How to see death of a loved one philosophically without becoming hardhearted?
655)
Should criminals who go on murderous sprees be forgiven?
654)
How to deal with anger when others hurt us?
653)
Is thinking that we may not attain Krishna in one life being realistic or being lethargic?
652)
How can we avoid losing enthusiasm as we keep practicing bhakti over the years?
651)
How do our relationships in this world relate with our relationship with Krishna?
650)
Overcome discouragement through spiritual wisdom
649)
Why does the Bhagavatam end with impersonal knowledge?
648)
What is the source of desire?
647)
If destiny is supreme, how do we have free will?
646)
What is the best way to get positive thoughts regularly?
645)
How can we decide when pursuing material things is enough?
644)
How can we find like-minded association?
643)
How are thoughts generated?
642)
How can we avoid taking steps forward and then backward in our spiritual life?
641)
Practicing bhakti amidst todays fast-paced life
640)
How can we differentiate between Krishna and Maya in subtle situations?
639)
How does the existence of the finite point to the existence of the infinite?
638)
QA tradition brings intellectual vibrancy to bhakti
637)
Manage the mind through introspection and meditation
September 2015
636)
If we correct with good intention, isn’t that good enough?
635)
Judgmental attitude ruins relationships
634)
How can we practice bhakti-yoga on a daily basis?
633)
How can we set spiritual goals that harmonize with our material goals?
632)
How to find our true nature?
631)
How spirituality increases our social contributions
630)
Why does Krishna say the devatas are different from him in chp 7 and same with him in chp 10?
629)
How much should we discipline our children in practical things such as watching TV?
628)
How can I overcome sleepiness when studying the Gita?
627)
How can bhakti help our children in their careers?
626)
Parenting Principles from Bhagavad-gita
625)
Why is the soul’s connection with the Supreme established only through sound – and a specific mantra at that?
624)
What to do when our vertical and horizontal relationships are not symbiotic?
623)
What is the highest form of love?
622)
Love is the highest reality
621)
Happiness lies inside, not outside – is this a spiritual and scriptural principle?
620)
Prabhupada encouraged competition but that sometimes led to ego and power struggle – how to understand?
619)
How to recover from harsh words of some devotees?
618)
When Krishna is so loving, why is loving him so difficult?
617)
How can we practically experience Krishna’s love for us?
616)
MIND acronym 3 – The mind neglects opportunity and denies reality
615)
How to be selective in our association without becoming judgmental?
614)
How can we prevent the mind from obsessing over negative things that shouldn’t happen?
613)
How can we spiritualize the willing function of the mind?
612)
MIND acronym 2 – Mind imagines pleasure
611)
Death and the search for meaning
610)
Is the mind or a source of desires or just a channel of the soul’s desires?
609)
Does the working of the mind match with our desires?
608)
How to fight against the minds self-sabotaging inner dialogue?
607)
Does Krishna not help us when we are not his pure devotees?
606)
How to deal with relatives who hurt us by their ego and negativity?
605)
Philosophy seems abstract – how can we undestand that Krishna tangibly helps us?
604)
Appreciating Radharani’s position and devotion – Radhashtami class
603)
What does the Gita say about attachment, detachment and rupture in relationships?
602)
How exactly is work worship – is bad work also worship?
601)
How to sustain our bhakti when we have to live in materialistic association
600)
Understanding the Marshmallow test from the three modes’ perspective
599)
Do aliens exist?
598)
Why do great devotees die due to painful dieases or terrible accidents?
597)
Akbar built temples and Aurangzeb destroyed temples – why the difference?
596)
Did man go to the moon or not?
595)
Are dreams about Krishna factual or just imaginary?
594)
Why do Abrahamic religions call Deity Worship as Devil Worship?
593)
Do our dreams reflect our anarthas?
592)
MIND acronym 1 – Magnifies the problem
591)
How to respond when a devotee is criticized by a devotee or a nondevotee?
590)
Deconstructing Shishupala’s character assassination of Krishna
589)
“Can you keep a secret?”
588)
Offering to Srila Prabhupada – Meditating on your life for dedicating my life
587)
Relevance of Krishna’s descent – TEMPLE acronym – Janmashtami special
586)
Comparing appearances of Krishna and Rama – Janmashtami special
August 2015
585)
Is bhakti as rasa a contemporary presentation at Lord Chaitanya’s times or an eternal truth?
584)
Can a devotee do karma-kandi rituals for earning a living?
583)
Did the presentation of bhakti evolve or even its definition evolve over time?
582)
How can we reconcile “act according to your nature” and “do what Krishna wants you to do, not what you want to do”?
581)
From the Mahabharata Krishna to the Bhagavatam Krishna
580)
How can we avoid comparing ourselves with others while living in a comparing culture?
579)
How can we avoid moroseness caused by repeatedly falling for sense gratification?
578)
How can we serve according to our nature within an institutional setup?
577)
Why did Vasudeva not allow Krishna to return to Vrindavana?
576)
Appreciating Bhagavatam as rasa shastra
575)
Balaram Jayanti – How Balaram helps Krishna remember Vrindavan outside Vrindavan
574)
Temptations may come, we don’t have to welcome
573)
How can we reconcile “Krishna provides for devotees” and “Krishna takes everything from devotees”?
572)
How can we make our heart into a temple?
571)
Prabhupada: The moments that made his movement – Part 3
570)
Prabhupada: The moments that made his movement – Part 2
569)
Prabhupada: The moments that made his movement – Part 1
568)
Spiritual Insights for dealing with HIV
567)
How does fasting on Ekadashi increase our love for Krishna?
566)
How can we develop the contradictory qualities of enthusiasm and patience?
565)
When Arjuna had enough mind control to perform great austerities, why does he say that he can’t control the mind?
564)
How was Sanjay able to see the Universal Form without being given special eyes by Krishna?
563)
Does the fact that religious knowledge doesn’t grow like scientific knowledge prove its irrelevance?
562)
Do the differences in various religions’ conceptions of God prove his non-existence?
561)
Gita 07.21 – Krishna is much more merciful than the God in the Prodigal Son metaphor
560)
Independence Day Meditation – A Patriotism beyond Patriotism
559)
Should the Bhagavad-gita be made India’s national book?
558)
Should we love ourselves or hate ourselves?
557)
Prabhupada’s one step to enter Jaladuta – A giant leap in humanity’s spiritual evolution
556)
When cities were present in scriptural times too, why does ISKCON criticize urbanization?
555)
Isnt fear of entanglement in grihastha life desirable?
554)
Should one not become an IAS officer because one will get the karma of the people under one’s jurisdiction?
553)
Is the quote about Macaulay systematically planning to destroy Indias glorious education and culture false?
552)
Which books of the previous acharayas can sadhakas read?
551)
Doesn’t ISKCON’s rule to glorify Srila Prabhupada and not one’s guru go against Vedic culture of glorifying one’s guru?
550)
Lord Chaitanya gives special mercy – does that mean souls before his descent were deprived of mercy?
549)
Why dont the Vedas talk only about bhakti – how are they the authority for bhakti?
548)
Is Krishna’s coming only once in Brahma’s day mean that he is partial?
547)
After completing brahmachari training, how to overcome fear of entanglement while entering grihastha ashrama?
546)
Should we pray for going BTG or pray for serving Krishna in this world?
545)
While praying how can we cultivate emotions without becoming sahajiyaic?
544)
What does it mean to remember Krishna while chanting?
543)
When we are in tears, we need self-confidence to deal with it practically – what is the use of chanting?
542)
Vandanam – Understanding the dynamics of prayer
July 2015
541)
Is it hypocrisy to kill animals for getting yoga-seat while claiming to be a vegetarian?
540)
Gita Metaphors 2 – Wind 1 – A Boat Amidst a Storm
539)
Bhagavad Gita Metaphors 1 – Introduction
538)
Gita 18.35 – Expecting the worst of everything is ignorant, not transcendent
537)
The quest for fame deconstructed and redirected
536)
Meditation on prayer to Jagannatha
535)
Three levels of manifestation of Jagannatha Rath Yatra
534)
What to when the mind despite our devotional practices gets caught in something?
533)
What is the Vedic perspective on panpsychism?
532)
How can we avoid blaming our spiritual life for our not being fast enough or ambitious enough in our material life?
531)
How can we remember Krishna constantly in a passionate company environment?
530)
Focus on the universality of suffering, not its variety
529)
What is the difference between humility and inferiority complex?
528)
Focus on the universality of suffering, not its variety
527)
How was Kunti ever truthful when she lied to conceal Bhima’s identity?
526)
Isn’t it material conception of Deity to offer fan or candana when we feel hot in summer?
525)
Is the bead bag to be worshiped like Krishna?
524)
How much is the jurisdiction of our free will?
June 2015
523)
Krishna went to Kubja to satisfy her desires – how to understand?
522)
Is KC also exclusivist because those who don’t accept Krishna’s form are said to be doomed?
521)
How does KC take us inwards when it involves many external activities?
520)
Accepted restriction facilitates elevation – resented restriction doesn’t
519)
When thinking is done by the soul, how can our thoughts be material?
518)
What are ISKCON’s views on adoption, in-vitro fertilization and surrogacy?
517)
Should a devotee cardiac surgeon avoid doing angioplasty because it uses an animal product injection?
516)
Should we be humble with nondevotees who may exploit us?
515)
How do we understand the statement that women are less intelligent?
514)
Even after practicing bhakti why do we still have worldly desires?
513)
Prabhupada’s legacy lives on
512)
When a ghost possesses a person, how do two souls function in the same body?
511)
Does a science student need to give up all faith in science for practicing bhakti?
510)
How can we overcome loneliness?
509)
Does God play dice with the universe?
508)
How can I serve with someone who doesn’t like me?
507)
World Yoga Day – Let’s Go Beyond Political and Physical Posturing
506)
Does scripture have mathematical equation for relativity?
505)
Is yoga a cure-all?
504)
Can there be something called Christian yoga?
503)
Is yoga Hindu or not?
502)
World Yoga Day – Let’s Go Beyond Political and Physical Posturing
501)
When likings are relative to species, what’s wrong with a hog’s attraction to stool?
500)
How do we know which is our voice, the minds voice and the Supersoul’s voice?
499)
As we will become attached to services we like should we also take services we dont like?
498)
Should we seek financial security first so that we can focus more on bhakti later?
497)
How do we differentiate between sentimental practice of bhakti and sentiments coming from bhakti?
496)
How can following rules lead to developing of spontaneous love?
495)
Should we seek satisfaction by serving according to our nature of sacrifice by doing whatever we are told to do?
494)
Are Prabhupada’s standards being diluted by, say, singing mahamantra in Bollywood song tune?
493)
How can I overcome confusion about which spiritual master to choose?
492)
Is work worship?
491)
If even sinful devotees are considered saintly should we not look for trustworthiness in relating with devotees?
490)
If descending to lower species is the greatest fear why does Bhaktivinoda T not fear an insect birth?
489)
Do the Vedas already contain a Theory of Everything?
488)
Are abnormal behaviors caused by nervous breakdowns or by ghosts?
487)
Should we work without worrying about result or work for Krishna?
486)
Personal Management Mantra – Productivity in Activity through Spirituality
485)
Is it ok to savor the good feelings we get while practicing bhakti?
484)
How can we stay busy in Krishna consciousness?
483)
Krishna can bring good out of everything – even our mistakes
482)
Scientific, Christian and Bhagavatam conceptions of God
481)
How to avoid boredom while hearing the same points being repeated in classes?
480)
How should we pray in front of the Deities?
479)
How do we know whether we are accepting and rejecting while surrendering based on the mind or the intelligence?
478)
Why are the Bhagavatam’s and science’s conceptions of the universe so different?
477)
Conceptions of time in science, Christianity and Bhagavatam
476)
Counter anxiety by spirituality
475)
Managing the mind 1 – The mind is the TV and the thief
474)
How important are close relationships with devotees?
473)
Is mathematics a source of absolute knowledge as its concepts are not dependent on imperfect senses?
472)
PK and the criteria for finding the right path
471)
Is science not needed to help people see the truth of Vedas as people want practical proofs that science can offer?
470)
Is thinking only about God and not at all about the world not a restriction of the mind?
469)
In the name of not worrying, how can we avoid becoming irresponsible?
468)
Can we program our mind for achieving success?
467)
Why is pleasure easily accessible in material life but not in spiritual life?
466)
Gita as a leadership guide
465)
How do we know there is life after death?
464)
Spiritual Advancement and Material Ambitiousness
463)
When our professional and family responsibilities already fill our schedule, why should we take the additional burden of practicing bhakti?
462)
How do we deal with emotions of others – friends, relatives and devotees?
461)
Emotion Commotion Devotion – Nourishing our emotions in a culture of emotional exploitation
460)
If someone doesn’t have a photographic memory, is that injustice or does it mean he is meant to excel in some field that doesn’t require such a memory?
459)
Extra-terrestrial life – Scientific and scriptural approaches to the subject
458)
Difference between humans and animals – Christian, scientific and Bhagavatam understandings
457)
Why does the world offer more wrong options than right options?
456)
Should we force our teenage children to take to bhakti or leave it to Krishna’s will?
455)
When people say we don’t care about next life karmic consequences how should we preach to them?
454)
How do we reconcile science and spirituality when they are contradictory?
453)
The purpose of the world – atheistic, theistic and Bhagavatam understandings
May 2015
452)
How can we continue in bhakti when our faith in devotees is shaken?
451)
We feel more eager to read news than scripture – what to do?
450)
How can we strengthen our faith in Krishna amidst difficulties?
449)
Conceptual, conversational and chronological background of the Bhagavatam’s creation narrative
448)
Love is in the SOUND
447)
Can an OBE be repeated and experimented upon?
446)
Are there any scientifically verified cases of past-life memories?
445)
Are there any NDEs that conclusively prove the existence of the soul?
444)
Cant past-life memories be coincidences among the earth’s eight billion people’s stories?
443)
How can we make the effect of hearing last for long?
442)
Do devotees have to give up humor?
441)
How can we face problems caused by others without falling for the blame game?
440)
Information Satisfaction Purification Conviction – Four Benefits of Hearing
439)
When chanting is so simple why do we feel so lazy – how can we chant constantly?
438)
If tamasic people are attracted to ghastly worshipable forms, then are those who worship Narasimha tamasic?
437)
Why is Rama Navmi fast broken in some temples with grains and in others without grains?
436)
Does God have favorites?
435)
Is Christianity Mayavada because many Christians consider Jesus to be God?
434)
Sensitivity in preaching amidst natural calamities
433)
Lakshmi Narasmiha Karavalamba Stotra Meaning 1
432)
Lord Narasimha – Half-man half-lion full-God
April 2015
431)
When Upadeshamrita is for seekers, why does it start by telling who can become a guru?
430)
How can the finite soul experience infinite happiness?
429)
Why is the irreligious West prosperous and religious India poor?
428)
Is pain is caused by bodily attachment, how can painkillers stop the pain?
427)
If yajnas are not done will there be no rains?
426)
Is Jesus the only way to God and Hinduism the lie of the Devil?
425)
Does the system of karma and rebirth imply that there is no forgiveness?
424)
What do the terms karya karana kartrtva adhyatma adhibhuta and adhiyajna in SB 2.5.19 mean?
423)
How can we ensure that our words of correction act as scalpels, not axes?
422)
How can devotees avoid getting deviated to the heavenly planets?
421)
Bhagavatam Overview – Canto 1 – Setting the Scene of Devotion in Separation
420)
Terrorism – The Extreme Expression of a Culture of Ignorance
419)
How does marriage change sex from wrong to right?
418)
What does it mean to not take credit for the things we do?
417)
When neither yajnik-brahmanis nor their husbands get Krishna’s shelter, what is the point of that pastime?
416)
How can we avoid getting lost in the many conversations in the Bhagavatam?
415)
Which are the important commentaries on the Bhagavatam?
414)
Is it hypocritical to criticize others for faults we ourselves have?
413)
Rasa analysis of Krishna’s teasing of Rukmini
412)
What is time – Is there no time in the spiritual world?
411)
What exactly is humility – how do we develop it in bhakti?
410)
Is the Sakshi-Gopal pastime mundane with a brahmana using God to futher his marriage?
March 2015
409)
Should I postpone my sadhana bhakti to focus on college studies?
408)
How can I protect my bhakti from bad association in college?
407)
Should devotees read news?
406)
Was sati suicide or murder?
405)
When the world is Maya, why not just renounce it?
404)
Why do serious devotees sometimes die prematurely?
403)
If God created everything, who created God?
402)
India’s Daughter and India’s culture
401)
How do we understand Srila Prabhupada’s statements on rape?
400)
Is diversity the DNA of Hinduism?
399)
How can devotees face anxieties caused by worldly threats like crimes?
398)
Krishna demonstrates prevailing definition of success – and transcends it
397)
Gaur Purnima Special – Lord Chaitanya makes the abominable age worshipable
396)
How could Bhima drink Dushashana’s blood?
395)
Is identifying according to our nature false ego?
394)
Is sex pleasure due to hormones or mental imagination?
393)
What causes inferiority complex?
392)
Will banning beef lead to economic problems?
February 2015
391)
PURI acronym – 4 special qualities of Madhavendra Puri
390)
Is applying material science to spiritual things wrong?
389)
Do devotees who commit suicide become ghosts?
388)
Are all attractive things good for devotees of the all-attractive?
387)
How do we understand different devotees interpreting the moisture on the Pancha Tattva Deities differently?
386)
Who created God?
385)
Should we hate the mind?
384)
Can’t all miracles be ascribed to natural causes?
383)
How do we understand contradictions in scriptures?
382)
How is shabda-pramana free from four defects?
381)
Why does Prabhupada say that Haridasa Thakura is superior to Lord Shiva?
380)
Did the Pancha Tattva Deities shed tears of ecstasy due to the ecstatic kirtan mela?
379)
Why does God let some people be atheists?
378)
Did the Gita originally have 745 verses?
377)
Harinaam Sankirtan unites dance with meditation
376)
Music therapy and Harinaam Sankirtan
375)
Is the Gita relevant today?
374)
Valentine’s Day – Commercial exploitation of urban isolation sets up the heart for disappointment
373)
Should we hate the mind?
372)
Are miracles compatible with science?
371)
What a saint learned from a prostitute
January 2015
370)
Is the mind always our enemy?
369)
Is the Absolute Truth just a stream of consciousness for jnanis and a Person for bhaktas?
368)
What is the result of chanting the names of godmen who have the name of God?
367)
Can you give an example of unnecessarily provocative presentation of apara-vidya that we should avoid?
366)
How to present scriptural wisdom scientifically
365)
How can we help a dying relative attain emotional closure with an unforgiving relative?
364)
Are there two gods: the god who created man and the god whom man created? (PK QA 6)
363)
Does fear take people towards God or away from him?
362)
Is it cowardice to go to God out of fear? (PK QA 5)
361)
Do people who are afraid go to temples? (PK QA 4)
360)
Why do religious teachers stereotype people as when they pronounce all Pakistanis as cheaters? (PK QA 3)
359)
Don’t anoint everything as spiritual or denounce everything as material
358)
Does the improbability of extra-terrestrial life support more the Christian conception of God than the Vedic conception?
357)
Can we reject as wrong numbers the rituals that don’t make sense? (PK QA 2)
356)
How can we best help a relative who is near death?
355)
Should conversions be banned in India?
354)
What is the difference between faith and blind faith? (PK answered 27)
353)
Are different religions like different companies with their gods as their product? (PK answered 26)
352)
How can God who is unlimited appear as a limited stone image? (PK answered 24)
351)
Does a stone smeared with turmeric become God? (PK answered 23)
December 2014
350)
Happy New Year – How bhakti-yoga fulfills the import of this sincere wish
349)
Is PK an anti-Hindu movie? (PK answered 22)
348)
Are we meant to not ask questions in matters of faith? (PK answered 21)
347)
If scripture is given by God, why is it not visible to a newborn child?
346)
Aren’t Hindu teachers by refuting PK unnecessarily promoting it?
345)
Why waste milk on God’s image when his children are starving? (PK answered 20)
344)
Vaishnava Meditations on Christmas
343)
Does God like atheists more than religionists because atheists don’t kill children?
342)
Hold on to Hari, not to worry
341)
What is artistic license and how can it be used in devotional dramas?
340)
What does it mean to see Krishna everywhere?
339)
Krishna’s moods in the Gita – Gita Jayanti class
338)
How do we help people hurt by insensitive behavior of devotees?
337)
The difference between sentimentality and sensitivity – SB 4.8.26
336)
Do we learn shastra by studying more or serving more?
November 2014
335)
How can we use gadgets in bhakti without becoming attached?
334)
Isn’t forcing ourselves to thank God for bad things self-repression?
333)
Does bhakti make us unambitious?
332)
Was Mirabai greater than Jiva Goswami because she saw beyond bodily gender?
331)
Is the Gita a religious book or a secular book?
330)
Is secularism against the Vedic tradition?
329)
Thoughts on Thanksgiving
328)
Why does Gita 7.25 use yoga-maya instead of maha-maya?
327)
Does the Gita ask Arjuna to choose job over family?
326)
Should prostitution be legalized in India?
325)
Do parents suffer the sins of their children?
324)
Are children punished for the sins of their parents?
323)
How is chanting in the washroom not an offense to the holy name?
322)
When chanting requires mind control, why do we say that chanting leads to mind control?
321)
Words shape worlds – watch your words
320)
Where does people’s evil tendency come from?
319)
Could God have prevented the Holocaust?
318)
Who is responsible for the Holocaust – Hitler or the Jews’ karma?
317)
Why does God not protect his devotees today like he protected Prahlad?
316)
When we don’t know what past-life karma caused our present suffering how do we learn?
315)
Where exactly is the pleasure of sex: in our mind, in our body’s hormonal secretion or in the other person’s body?
314)
Is God a scientist or a magician?
313)
Is the God of the Abrahamic traditions the same as the God of the Vedic tradition?
312)
Will devotional service free us from a painful disorder?
311)
Does one lose wealth or gain wealth by worshiping Hari?
310)
Is controlling lust forcibly helpful or harmful?
309)
Why do devotees consult psychologists instead of chanting mahamantra?
308)
How can we share scriptural wisdom in today’s secular government?
307)
Why does Bhishma Panchaka have 4 days this year instead of 5?
October 2014
306)
Does papa-yonayah in Gita 9.32 refer to a fourth category?
305)
Why do so many people commit suicide?
304)
Is karma-yoga superior to jnana-yoga according to the Gita chp 3?
303)
Which dictionary meaning of the word ‘mind’ does the Gita refer to?
302)
What does panentheism mean?
301)
When sex is a fact of life, why be prudish about depicting it in the media?
300)
Does covering our bodies with clothes make us obsessed to see others’ bodies?
299)
Is wearing clothes unnatural as no other species in nature wears clothes?
298)
How do we deal with students who take to KC to escape from studies?
297)
When Arjuna’s chariot was destroyed after the MB war, why does he say in SB “The chariot is the same”?
296)
When Prabhupada’s Gita is so obviously not as it is, how can he call it as it is?
295)
What is the benefit in hearing about Krishna?
294)
How can anyone accept such an antromorphic unscientific mythic conception of God as Krishna
293)
Govardhana lila’s significance in establishing the Bhagavatam’s worldview
292)
Aren’t Brahmavadis ultimately Mayavadis because they consider the Lord’s form to be temporary?
291)
Is the ability to remember past lives the mercy of the Lord?
290)
Redefine success
289)
How is Krishna consciousness a science?
288)
Can science never prove the existence of God?
287)
Why can’t we remember our past lives?
286)
Is sensitivity the same as sentimentality?
285)
Is birthday celebration non-Vedic?
284)
How can birthday celebrations be made more traditional and spiritual?
283)
The soul longs for meaning, but the body settles for pudding
282)
Should we just chant more or should we study philosophy more?
281)
Is the love of a mother for her baby Maya?
280)
I study scripture but don’t find it relevant to me. What to do?
279)
When bhakti can’t be quantified, why have a bhakti shastri course with marks?
278)
What does the CC statement that scripture contains illusory stories mean?
277)
Why does ISKCON have such a negatively sex-obsessed conception of bhakti?
276)
If all equations including those of quantum physics are thoughts of God, why does quantum physics not make sense?
275)
Words shape worlds – watch your words
274)
Why do we sometimes act like mad, doing things that we would normally never do?
273)
How the Chaitanya Charitamrita unified and systematized Gaudiya Vaishnavism
272)
How do we balance between endeavor for bodily maintenance and dependence on Krishna?
271)
Does the body change cell-by-cell or is it like a TV frame that changes completely at every moment?
270)
Dussehra meditation – Differentiating between obstinacy and determination
269)
How can one avoid defying authority in the name of serving according to svabhava?
268)
Why does Prabhupada in his Gita sometimes place nishkama karma yoga above jnana and dhyana yogas?
267)
When today spiritual masters can’t personally instruct disciples about their services, how can we best serve Krishna?
266)
How do we avoid prayasa in the services we like to do?
265)
Are the Vedas like a jungle, as a blasphemous scholar alleges?
264)
How can we know that the Vedas have a divine origin?
263)
Appreciating different definitions of success in devotional service
262)
Does the Gita recommend Deity worship?
261)
When Brahma says we should just accept misery as mercy, why do that Pandavas fight to take revenge
260)
When Krishna loves his devotees and can check karma, why does he let them suffer?
259)
When Krishna loves his devotees and can check karma, why do scriptures describe as karma being the cause of their suffering
258)
Balance philosophy with sensitivity – Be dharma-centered, not karma-centered
257)
Preaching sensitively
256)
If someone asks ‘have you seen God’ how do we answer?
255)
When Krishna gave special darshan to Dhanurdas, didn’t he interfere with his free will?
September 2014
254)
Right and wrong definitions of success in grihastha life
253)
Can God create a stone that he can’t lift?
252)
How can the spiritual soul taste or enjoy a material sweet?
251)
What is the difference between phenomenal and numinous in Gita 7.2
250)
How should devotees respond to the threat of brutal religious groups like ISIS?
249)
Why are ISKCON temples so commercialised?
248)
Can sick devotees adopt a diet of only raw foods if it improves their health?
247)
How should we counter when a respected ex-SC judge says that scripture contains poetic exaggerations?
246)
What is the actual difference between mind and intelligence?
245)
If misery is caused by misidentification, then why is there not just mental pain but also physical pain?
244)
A devotee is already righteous, so why does Krsna say that he becomes righteous in Gita 9.31?
243)
What is the difference between nitya and shashvata in Gita 2.20?
242)
When the guru is mostly inaccessible to disciples, isn’t initiation just a rubber-stamp?
241)
How can we convert our work in office into yajna?
240)
What is the difference between karma yoga, buddhi yoga and bhakti yoga?
239)
Is it selfish to want taste in chanting?
238)
Boro kripa koile krishna song meditation
237)
Don’t let pseudo-hunger masquerade as hunger
236)
Are all religions coming from the Vedas?
235)
Is there a shiva-linga at the Kaba?
234)
Was Prabhupada’s renunciation in the mode of passion as it was triggered by frustration with uncooperative family members?
233)
How do we reconcile the conflict of values in the Gita and the Chaitanya Charitamrita?
August 2014
232)
Accepting our limitations helps us see the light beyond limitations – SB 10.49.19
231)
When everything is in Prabhupada’s books, what is the need to read other books either by ISKCON devotees or previous acharyas?
230)
Does Prabhupada’s instruction ‘do as I have done’ mean there’s no need to innovate in preaching”
229)
How do we decide which of our emotions are material and which are spiritual?
228)
Is a devotee’s grihastha-ashrama a failure if the children don’t become devotees?
227)
Why do Abrahamic religions depict God as jealous when they are too are revelations?
226)
Is the prayer to get a good spouse a material prayer?
225)
The weapon for waging the world’s most formidable spiritual war (Srila Prabhupada Vyasa-puja Offering 2014)
224)
To realize everything is illusion amidst adversities, is yoga and pranayama the way or is bhakti-yoga sufficient?
223)
When the number of breaths of a soul in a body are fixed, how can a purpose-driven attitude increase longevity?
222)
People pray to God; the Vrajavasis pray for God (Meditation on Nandotsava)
221)
After the laughter? (Reflections on Robin Williams’ suicide)
220)
Is the holy name transcendental or immanent?
219)
Why were Indian rulers other than Shivaji not empowered by the Lord to protect Vedic culture?
218)
Are tragedies in our lives such as a relative committing suicide God’s punishments on us?
217)
How should relatives of a suicide resolve their anger towards that person?
216)
Should relatives communicate via planchette with someone who has committed suicide?
215)
If a good person commits suicide due to some frustration, what is their destination?
214)
Does a sudden tragedy in the lives of God’s worshipers indicates that God is too busy in his own kingdom to protect?
213)
What is the theory of reflection Prabhupada refers to in the Gita 2.13 purport?
212)
What is the Vedic perspective on passive euthanasia?
211)
Why does Krishna emphasise consciousness at death which is much more uncontrollable than consciousness while living?
210)
Meditation on the only prayers to Balaram in the Bhagavatam
209)
Does taking anti-depressant drugs as medicine violate the no intoxication principle?
208)
If consciousness of the couple at conception determines the nature of the child, will a child born through rape be evil?
207)
Why do we need to justify the Pandavas’ actions? Isn’t “Krishna told them to do it” enough reason?
206)
Why do we need to be in the mode of goodness to practice bhakti?
205)
Does one have to give up one’s material life on becoming an ISKCON member, even if one doesn’t become a brahmachari?
204)
Is ISKCON an organization for rich people?
203)
Spirituality and Medicine – An Integrated Approach
July 2014
202)
When the Pandavas were so virtuous why did Krisha let them suffer so much?
201)
When different religious groups have their own scriptures how is the authority of Vaishnava scriptures to be established?
200)
What guided humanity before scripture was written?
199)
Did Krishna establish dharma just for 36 years after fighting such a big war?
198)
How do we decide when to forgive and when to fight back?
197)
Draupadi’s courageous devotion amidst the disrobing – Ask not “why this?” but “how now?”
196)
Did Karna have to choose the side of evil due to his past karma?
195)
How to choose between doing our worldly repsonsibilities devotionally and doing directly devotional activities?
194)
How do we develop taste for studying scripture?
193)
When can a devotee seek honor instead of being humble?
192)
Did God create humans to care for him as no other living beings care for him?
191)
“Love yourself” – what is Vedic perspective on this idea?
190)
Scientism fosters not respect for science, but disrespect for humanity
189)
Is the Gita’s teaching that women are sinful resposible for female infanticide?
188)
Scientism makes it impossible for us to be scientific
187)
Should the gold in temples be used for social development?
186)
Does ISKCON have a phobia for the tenth canto? (Bhagavatam 10.47.28)
185)
Why did Bhima kill Duryodhana unfairly by hitting him below the waist during their final battle in the Mahabharata war?
184)
Is scriptural knowledge needed only when devotion is dilute and not when devotion is pure?
183)
Is God hard of hearing that his devotees need to chant his names loudly?
182)
If Krishna’s ultimate instruction is to give up all duties for surrendering to him why shouldn’t everyone join the temple?
181)
If the Supersoul is present in all atoms and the space between them, what is special about the Superoul in our heart?
180)
Do the scriptures treat women as the property of men?
179)
How do we deal with people’s fear that ISKCON preachers will make ours sons into brahmacharis?
178)
How do we know whether we desire to preach for fame or for pleasing Krishna?
177)
Should we preach to make people ISKCON devotees or to make them better human beings?
176)
Why does the mind develop bad habits more easily than good habits?
June 2014
175)
Ratha-Yatra – When the Lord comes out, let’s invite him in
174)
Meditation on Bhaktivinoda Thakura pranama mantra
173)
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s contributions 4 – The Eastern Savior offers the zenith of religious experience among all the world’s religions
172)
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s contributions 3 – The sara-grahi redefinition of Panchopasana as progressive modes of comprehending the divine
171)
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s contributions 2 – See the unity of purpose underlying the diversity of religions
170)
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s contributions 1 – Let faith and reason remove the mosses of illusion
169)
What is the difference between bhara-vahi and sara-grahi Vaishnavas?
168)
Are we compromising when we use mild words like outreach instead of Prabhupada’s standard words like preaching?
167)
Selecting our association without being judgmental or offensive
166)
Is ISKCON an American organization that sends temple donations from India to America?
165)
Why are Einstein’s and Prabhupada’s metaphors about blind man-lame man contradictory?
164)
What does Einstein’s metaphor about science and religion mean?
163)
Does religion require faith from start to end whereas science requires faith only occasionally?
162)
If Krishna is the cause of all causes, is he the cause of everything that we and others do?
161)
I was born in another sampradaya, but became introduced to seriously bhakti through ISKCON. Which sampradaya should I follow?
160)
Why do insubstantial religious groups spread extensively and pure saints remain unknown?
159)
Who is better – one who chants all day or one who chants a few times and serves others all day?
158)
If we cant fast nirjala on Pandava Nirjala Ekadashi what benefit do we get?
157)
Is belief in God like belief in a cosmic teapot – undisprovable yet unreasonable?
156)
How can India’s wisdom-literature be introduced in the education without the saffronization of the syllabus?
155)
Should every action in the Lord’s pastimes be interpreted to get some instruction from it?
154)
Why does the Gita 12.11 include material charity in the bhakti hierarchy?
153)
Where do religious social workers like Mother Terersa fall in the Gita’s yoga ladder?
152)
How should we respond to indiscriminate violence against other communities done in the name of religion as a response to distortion of respected images?
151)
Confrontation or Penetration – Two approaches to sharing Krishna consciousness
150)
Safe, Danger and Relapse Zones in the War against temptation
149)
The nine tensions in the Bhagavatam
148)
Isn’t violence against women in India, as in the Badaun rape case, caused more by the casteist society and not by the obscenity in the culture?
147)
If Draupadi was dishonored due to her past karma, why did the Pandavas have to take revenge?
146)
Is forgiveness practical?
145)
What is the use of writing insubstantial articles in newspapers that don’t even mention the name of Krishna once?
144)
Why are divorces more among devotees than nondevotees?
143)
Why are all forms of science not equally authoritative – why is evoluion less reliable than gravity when its all science?
142)
Modi Swearing-in Ceremony – The Substance underlying the Form
141)
Can devotees watch TV serials about Krishna’s pastimes?
May 2014
140)
Has ISKCON replaced the scriptural worship of Ganesh in Hindu temples with the unscriptural worship of Prabhupada in its temples?
139)
Do the Anthropic Principle and the multiverse theory make the design argument redundant?
138)
If one has devotion, why does one need to count the names of God?
137)
As India is still receptive to direct devotional preaching and Prabhupada emphasized that, shouldn’t that be our emphasis too?
136)
Islam and Christianity have damaged Vedic culture yet we consider them revealed religions – so are they part of Kali’s plan or have they become distorted over time?
135)
Don’t romanticize the past or demonize the present – utilize whatever is available
134)
How do we respond when prominent scientists like Stephen Hawking write books propounding atheism?
133)
Is belief in God a virus of the mind, as atheists claim?
132)
Scientism is self-contradictory
131)
What does it mean to see Krishna everywhere?
130)
When the design argument is so logical, why don’t most people and most scientists accept God’s existence?
129)
Is God improbable because he has to be more complex than his creation and complex things have very low probability of emerging?
128)
Why has Ramanuja refuted the design argument in his Vedanta Sutra commentary?
127)
Revelation is the complement, not the replacement, of reason (Countering Scientism 1)
126)
Do religionists become self-centered due to believing that God has a personal relationship with them?
125)
Does religion cause sexual repression?
124)
Is it ok to have belief in belief instead of belief in God?
123)
How can we make our work into worship when it is not according to our nature and is not connected with Krishna?
122)
Should a devotee avoid initiation due to not being able to follow the fourth regulative principle fully?
121)
Was Arjuna’s killing Karna when he was chariot-less not unfair, being against the kshatriya codes?
120)
Won’t the progress of science make the God-of-the-gaps redundant?
119)
Does bringing God into science stop progress as does attributing plague to evil spirits?
118)
Do devotees have to oppose science to be faithful to Prabhupada?
117)
Isn’t it better to be satisfied with the beauty of the garden without imagining a fairy at its bottom?
116)
Are Manava seva and Madhava seva like two largely overlapping circles?
115)
During preaching, how important is it to provide relevant material information in addition to the paramapara’s message?
114)
How is Draupadi’s polygamy justified especially when it involves the same man being required to see her alternately as wife and as sister-in-law?
113)
How to see spiritual organizations that are largely Vaishnava except for considering their founder as an incarantion?
112)
We often feel like doing different things in bhakti at different times – how can we steadily maintain interest in one thing?
111)
While using a talent such as music for Krishna how can we transfer our attachment from that talent to Krishna?
110)
How can we avoid frustration at our inability to follow the standards of devotional service?
109)
How is Draupadi’s polygamy be justified especially when the Pandavas have to sometimes see her as a wife and at other times as sister-in-law?
108)
Is conscience always the voice of the Supersoul? Does everyone’s conscience tell them that meat-eating is wrong?
107)
Is terminal restlessness caused by fear of Yamadutas?
106)
If one has not had the habit of reading books but likes to hear, how can one develop that habit in bhakti?
105)
Should Indian devotees preach to Indians and Western devotees preach to Westerners so as to have culturally sensitive presentations of Krishna-bhakti?
104)
How much should we seach on the internet for good Krishna conscious content?
103)
How can I protect my bhakti when I go home and am with my pre-bhakti friends with whom I had indulged in bad habits?
102)
Narasimha Kavacha 3 – Verses 21-31 – The reciprocal Lord blesses us according to how we approach him
101)
Narasimha Kavacha 2 – Verses 9-20 – Remember the Lord for protection of all bodily limbs and from all directions
100)
Narasimha Kavacha 1 – Verses 1-8 – Meditate on the Lord without and within to invoke his protection
99)
How are the feelings of victory and adventure Krishna’s opulences, especially when people get those feelings in illicit activities such as gambling?
98)
Sita Devi – Determined devotion refuses to choose the easy way out no matter what the justification
97)
Value Education and Spirituality 6 – The Spiritual Foundation of Values 4 – Let secularism protect us from narrow-mindedness, not restrict us in empty-mindedness
96)
When Ashwatthama’s Brahmastra is charging towards Arjuna how does he get time to do achmana and offer prayers to Krishna before countering it?
95)
Can we be spiritual without being religious? – Prerana festival talk
94)
When I hear the Mahabharata, I identify much more with Karna than Arjuna. What should I do?
93)
Are devotees being told to be too other-worldly that something so simple as voting is made into such a big issue?
92)
Why doesn’t ISKCON practice what it preaches? First new devotees are told to be detached from their parents and then senior brahmacharis spend months caring for their dying parents
91)
Are the demigod worshipers in Gita 9.15 different from normal karma kandis because the Gita refers to them as jnanis?
90)
Aryan Invasion Theory – Origins, Problems and Consequences
89)
Was Hitler interested in India’s ancient spiritual culture? If yes, then why was he so hateful towards Jews?
April 2014
88)
Voting in elections – Clarification in response to HH Bhakti Vikas Maharaj
87)
Can talents like mimicry and comedy be used in devotional service?
86)
Should we as followers of Srila Prabhupada also study the books of the previous acharyas?
85)
Can chanting Hare Krsna help one to assimilate the knowledge of the scriptures more efficiently? How?
84)
How can I turn my occupational duty into devotional service to Krishna?
83)
How does contemplating on Krishna differ from mental speculation about Krishna?
82)
How exactly are “those in Krishna consciousness not responsible for their actions”, as Prabhupada states?
81)
Is it appropriate to judge students by the marks obtained by them in their examination?
80)
Who is the actual doer according to the Gita?
79)
How can we reconcile the Gita (3.4) – don’t give up work – and the Bhagavatam (1.5.17) – give up work?
78)
Did Krishna-Arjuna commit environmental holocaust at Khandava?
77)
By asking devotees to vote, why are you dragging Prabhupada’s pure legacy into dirty politics?
76)
ISKCON’s contributions to India 1 – Overview acronym INDIA
75)
Ramayana and Gaudiya Vaishnavism
74)
Voting in elections is the social responsibility of devotees
73)
What exactly is the mind? And where exactly is it located?
72)
Is banning books a part of the Abrahamic religions and not of dharmic religions which focused on intellectually debating and defeating opposing ideas not banning them?
March 2014
71)
How can women be said to have their own varna when Prabhupada says that the wife’s varna should be identified by the husband’s varna?
70)
How much anxiety shoud we take up for our devotional activities?
69)
If our nondevotee parents discourage our children’s enthusiasm for bhakti by calling it brainwashing by dangerous cults, how should we respond?
68)
Can ghosts commit suicide?
67)
When we worship God so that he will solve our problems aren’t we bribing God like students who flatter their teachers to get better marks?
66)
All parents want their children to get married. Then wouldn’t Krishna the supreme parent want his children to become married and not take sannyasa?
65)
You have your sampradaya, others like Shiva worshipers have their sampradaya – ultimately it’s all just different beliefs. Why should one sampradaya be considered higher than another?
64)
If we give up our controlling tendency completely won’t we lose our individuality and become like trees who don’t do anything differently?
63)
What is the significance of lighting a bonfire on the festival of Holi?
62)
I am a Physics student. How can I study the Bhagavad-gita scientifically when it seems like a discussion in a story?
61)
In the Mahabharata, why are other warriors like Eklavya, Ghatothakcha and Barbarika manipulated to favor Arjuna?
60)
Three ways to understand the maha-vadanyaya nature of Lord Chaitanya – the magnitude of the charity, the unworthiness of the recipients and the self-sacrifice of the giver
59)
How can we control the hyperactive imagination during chanting?
58)
Expanding the intersection of our emotional circle and Krishna’s emotional circle
57)
What is the relationship between the svarupa of the soul and its present seed form?
56)
When some devotee praises us, should we stop that devotee or go away or hear passively?
55)
When bhakti is transcendental, why do scriptures give importance to bodily designations like birth in India or birth in a royal dynasty?
54)
How does Krishna consciousness practically solve the world’s problems like violence, poverty and drug abuse?
53)
Does chanting all 16 rounds at one stretch lead to greater concentration?
52)
As repeated hearing leads to belief, what is the difference between devotional hearing and indoctrination by religious fanatics?
51)
How do we understand Krishna’s statement to Arjuna that Karna is a better archer than him?
50)
Tapping our irreducible individuality in bhakti-yoga
49)
Saci Suta Ashtakam Verse by Verse Meditation (Gaur Purnima Special)
48)
Vedic dharma series – Universal and contextual aspects of dharma
47)
How is the car-body analogy a good analogy when the car can’t reproduce and the driver can live independent of the car?
February 2014
46)
How important is it for devotee-couples to follow the Vedic model for gender roles in their relationship?
45)
The Amish and the practicality of varnashrama in today’s world
44)
Bhaktisiddhanta S T appearance – Faithfulness to tradition includes faithfulness to the tradition’s flexibility
43)
Mahabharata Wisdom 2 – Karna 1 – Past life karma comes as this life’s problems (Hindi)
42)
If one’s nature doesn’t change even after purification then how is a pure devotee transcendental?
41)
When we become purified does the predominant mode of the mind change?
40)
Doesn’t the idea that the infant suffers in the womb deny the glory of the mother’s love in caring for her infant?
39)
When the mahaprasad of devotees is so glorious, why are we discouraged from taking it during our regular interactions with other devotees?
38)
Should a devotee be eager to die, as Kulakshekhar Maharaj’s prayer says?
37)
When we face unexpected and big problems, does that meant God is angry with us?
December 2013
36)
What can we do when religions use surrogate advertising for converting unsuspecting needy people?
35)
Is institutionalization alien to Vedic culture? Did Gaudiya acharyas import if from Christianity ?
34)
If we are served more prasad than what we can eat, can we throw it away?
33)
When even Americans are concerned about Christian conversions in India, why is ISKCON unconcerned?
32)
When Prabhupada did many things different from his spiritual master, how did he not change anything?
31)
How can we identify false ego while doing services?
30)
When do questions move from being inquisitive to offensive? What kind of questions can be asked?
29)
When sex is an experience of Krishna, as the Gita states, why does Yamunacharya spit at sex desire?
28)
Is it possible for a human being to be entirely free from sex desire?
27)
When so many microbes are present in a cm, isn’t the idea of a God who loves everyone impractical?
26)
Don’t descriptions of Krishna’s form make us imagine as spiritual our material attraction to forms?
25)
If the Gita is a manual why is it so confusing? Why couldn’t it have been clearer?
24)
Does ISKCON promote subtle emotional enjoyment in the name of spiritual enjoyment?
23)
Is ISKCON’s conception of God like the Abrahamic religion’s jealous God?
22)
Could the unbelievable stories about Krishna not be some poets’ fabrications?
21)
Should a devotee oppose crimes like rapes? Should he feel compassion for the criminal?
20)
Does Prabhupada’s request to cooperate with devotees mean that we allow them to exploit us?
19)
How can we pray for those who are troubling us?
18)
If Krishna is God, how could he have been killed by a hunter’s arrow?
17)
What does crying for Krishna, as Srila Prabhupada recommends, mean practically?
November 2013
16)
When hearing about Krishna from nondevotees can create interest in people and act as a stepping stone to devotional service, why is such hearing considered like milk touched by a snake?
15)
Why do some people during NDEs feel peace and don’t see Yamadutas? Doesn’t this prove that such experiences are just imaginations based on their subconscious conceptions?
14)
Srila Prabhupada recommended monarchy in his books, yet instituted democracy in managing ISKCON through the GBC. Why?
13)
Is the Absolute Truth like water that appears liquid to the impersonalists and solid to the personalists?
12)
What is the logical proof for the existence of the spiritual world?
11)
Does one have to accept everything in the philosophy of ISKCON to become a devotee-preacher?
10)
Should we chant and wait for feeling to come or chant with feeling?
9)
Do devotees realize Brahman first, then Paramatma and then Bhagavan?
8)
How can we determine our varna?
7)
Doesn’t Krishna protect devotees from black magic?
6)
Isn’t it superstitious to believe in black magic?
5)
SB 01.09.37 – How can we not love the Lord who says to his devotee: ‘Let thy will, not mine, be done’?
4)
How can we counter competitive mentality when we see other devotees succeeding in spiritual life?
3)
If devotees are troubled by black magic can they seek a remedy from tantriks?
2)
Can ISKCON devotees participate in social causes like anti-corruption activism or do they have to only cultivate and teach pure devotion?
October 2013
1)
How can we take shelter of Krishna when the sexual urge troubles us while we are resting in bed?