community Blog
The Essential Things
Sacinandana Swami In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , Arjuna has the painful task of delivering the message of Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance to Yudhiṣṭhira. In this conversation, Arjuna says, “ O King! The Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari, who treated me exactly like an intimate friend, has left me alone. Thus my astounding power, which astonished even the demigods, is no longer with me .” (1.15.5) Śrīla Prabhupāda comments: “ The power and energy which were bestowed upon Arjuna were requi
The First Red Leaf
The first red leaf greeted me this morning Among the dull colors of the other fallen leaves It’s redness smiled a reminder of time passing A reminder of cycles of birth and death Of leaves separating from the trees As the body separates from the soul We stand and watch the leaves fall As we watch our own body change Life within is the only life that matters The red leaf kissed the earth And we thanked her for it Autumn makes philosophical reflection easy. The movement, the co
Make SPace
Sacinandana Swami As devotees, we have to be careful. The new year will bring a lot of busyness into our lives, like the years before. Have you noticed that life isn’t becoming more peaceful and less busy, it seems to get faster and faster? We live in a very fast-paced society. Maybe this is the heavy price we have to pay in Kali-yuga: being more and more dedicated to activity on the outside. And we miss Krishna. We surround ourselves with people and projects and lack the dir
Sugar Candy
“The holy name, character, pastimes and activities of Krsna are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one afflicted by the jaundice of avidya [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.” Nectar of Instruction, Verse 7 This most important verse about the key practice of mantra m
finding sweetness
We just finished a community reading of the story of Madhavendra Puri and the pot of sweet rice. This is from the beautiful Caitanya Caritamrita and details a journey of service, reciprocation, support, storytelling and expressions of love. What I also learned from this experience is the power of hearing from each other. Although we all read the same text, it spoke to us differently. When we shared, we brought the text to life. We saw things we had not seen before. We were en
Listen Again
"The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Listen again, O mighty-armed Arjuna. Because you are My dear friend, for your benefit I shall speak to you further, giving knowledge that is better than what I have already explained." Bhagavad-gita 10.1 My verse of the week is from Chapter 10 of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. “Listen again,” Krishna says. It’s a beautiful thing, this listening, this calling one closer. Come, He says, I have something even better to tell you. To listen t
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