Shikshashtaka 8

 I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.

Shikshashtaka 2

 O my Lord, Your holy name alone can render all benediction to living beings, and thus You have hundreds and millions of names, like Krsna and Govinda. In these transcendental names You have invested all Your transcendental energies. There are not even hard and fast rules for chanting these names. O my Lord, out of kindness You enable us to easily approach You by Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

Sravanam 🪷 Hearing About Krishna

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone's heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted. -Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.17 🪷 There is immense benefit in reading Krishna conscious literature. As Gaudiya Vaishnavas, we particularly study Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Caitanya Caritamrta, Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, and other literatures by the Six Goswamis who were the very confidential followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. By hearing about Krishna from these books, we can cross over the ocean of material existance and attain an eternal life of knowledge and bliss in the Kingdom of God which is called Vaikuntha or Goloka. As Sri Krishna Himself says in the Srimad Bhagavad Gita: In this world, there is nothing so sublime and pure as transcendental knowledge. Such knowledge is the mature fruit of all mysticism. And one who has achieved this enjoys the self within himself in due course of time  -Bhagavad Gita 4.38

The Glories of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 It would be impossible to overestimate or exaggerate the amazing spiritual accomplishments of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, hereafter referred to as Srila Prabhupada. On the order of his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Maharaja Prabhupada, Srila Prabhupada established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness which became a major branch of the tree of the Sankirtana movement of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He converted thousands of people from many countries around the world to Gaudiya Vaishnavism. And today, it is astonishing to see how many great Vaishnavas, high calibre Vaishnavas and preachers created by him that are his disciples or granddisciples. Srila Prabhupada ingeniously made a complete presentation of Krishna consciousness in the English language in a way never previously done. Many English phrases such as Krishna consciousness, devotional service, love of Godhead, and Supreme Personality of Godhead appear to have been coined by Srila Prabhupada. He established over 100 Krishna temples which has been expanded by his followers to over 800 temples. He translated and commentated on many  Vaishnava Vedic scriptures such as Bhagavad Gita, Srimad Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Sri Isopanisad, Sri Upadesamrta, and Sri Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu. He established Back to Godhead magazine. He engaged his disciples to produce wonderful transcendental paintings for his books and magazine that he said are windows to the spiritual world. He established the Bhaktivedanta Institute to challenge modern atheistic science. He inaugurated Rathayatra festivals in many major cities of the world. And all this he started by traveling across the ocean on a freighter ship from India to the USA at age 69 with less than $10 in his possession. Previously in India he had begun some of his literary work but the other accomplishments mentioned here manifested after his arrival in the USA. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Some Thoughts on the Grhasta Asrama

 In the grhasta asrama, or married life in Krishna consciousness, according to traditional Vedic culture the wife is supposed to be subordinate to, and dependent on her husband. The husband is called swami or master. In modern society, however, many women have successful careers in earning a livelihood and are not financially dependent on their husband. And we can see that many wives don't want to accept this subordinate position. But Srila Prabhupada has said that for a harmonious marriage relationship, the wife should follow her Krishna conscious husband. But that comes to an important point that I would like to make here. A Krishna conscious husband should never mistreat, disrespect, or insult his wife. He is the leader but he has to command respect by giving respect and by maintaining a decent level of spiritual practice and Krishna consciousness. And consequently, a Krishna conscious wife should not disrespect or insult her husband. From the beginning of their relationship, both parties should be very careful not to start the vicious cycle of insults which can damage their relationship. 

The Activities of the Mind

One can become very exalted or very degraded just by the activities of one's own mind.

"A man must elevate himself by his own mind, not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well."  -Bhagavad Gita 6.5

Vedic Truth

 According to the Vedas this material universe is a prison within the cosmic manifestation of God. Some of the charactaristics of this prison are as follows: There are miseries arising from 1) the process of birth  2) death  3) old age  4) disease  5) other miseries caused by the material body and mind  6) miseries caused by other living beings such as enemies, insects, snakes, etc.  7) miseries caused by material nature such as heat, cold, wind, drought, etc. People are anxious to solve the world's problems but the above 7 problems will always be present in the material world whether for a homeless person or a billionaire or anybody in between. There is, however, another nature, a trancendental nature, free from misery and indestructable. One who attains to the transcendental nature lives an eternal life of bliss and knowledge. We are in prison because we don't have pure love for God but rather we have some envy of him. If we rectify our attitude so that God is pleased with us then we can live peacefully in this life and eventually be transferred to the eternal nature of which this material nature is but a reflection.