The Bhagavad-gita is universally renowned as the jewel of India's spiritual wisdom. Spoken by Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead to His intimate disciple Arjuna, the Gita's seven hundred concise verses provide a definitive guide to the science of self realization. No other philosophical or religious work reveals, in such a lucid and profound way, the nature of consciousness, the self, the universe and the Supreme.

Prior to its discovery by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Brahma-samhita was not propagated in India as was the transcendental treatise Srimad-Bhagavatam previously expounded in the forest of Naimisha.

Upon hearing that there is a repetitive cycle of birth and death any sane person would be like “I have to do this all over again?!” The good news is that no. You’re meant to live forever as an individual and have a fulfilled life in an eternal blissful relationship with Krishna and His associates, in this life and the next. Srila Prabhupada explains how you’re not supposed to “do it all again”, in fact, you’re supposed to get out of this nightmare. Isn’t it an existential paradox how we like to say things like “love you forever”, “eternity”, “happily ever after”? It triggers the intrinsic eternal nature of the soul. So from reincarnation, dualities of the material world, threefold miseries, and misguiding bodily identification to sat-cit-ananda, Srila Prabhupada takes us on an extensive journey from material to the blissful, effulgent spiritual realm. The infallible Vedas, the instruction manual of the universe, delivered by a bonafide guru, His Divine Grace, will equip us all with all the knowledge, tools, instructions, and instruments to go beyond birth and death.

Who doesn’t like to travel in 21st century? You’ll be pleased to know that we as spirit souls are capable of much more than just traveling as we please wherever we want in and out of space. Not paying a single penny. “The soul is a spiritual spark which is many, many times more illuminating, dazzling and powerful than sun, moon or electricity.” The book starts off as a response to one scientific exploration and then goes on into explaining what the science of bhakti says about space-travel. Bhakti-yoga’s techniques are so much more superior than futile time-and-money-wasting modern methods, although from the perspective of self-discipline and self-purification it may seem to be quite hard and difficult at first. However, the nature of the soul is so powerful and pure that for a simple and sincere practitioner it becomes much easier than the laborious exhausting endeavors of the material realm.

The *Narada Bhakti Sutra* is a classical text attributed to the sage Narada, one of the most prominent figures in Vaishnavism and spirituality. This text is a collection of aphorisms or sutras that delve into the concept of bhakti (devotion) as a means to achieve devotion to Shri Krishna.

"Raja-Vidya" by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is a profound exploration of the principles of Bhakti Yoga, a spiritual practice rooted in devotion and love for the divine. The book delves into the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita, presenting them in a way that is accessible and inspiring for readers seeking spiritual growth.

Swami Prabhupada's clear and insightful commentary helps readers understand complex philosophical concepts and apply them to their daily lives. The book emphasizes the importance of living a life of devotion, humility, and service, offering practical guidance on how to cultivate these qualities.

Overall, "Raja-Vidya" is a valuable resource for anyone interested in deepening their understanding of Bhakti Yoga and the timeless wisdom of the Bhagavad-gita. It serves as both an introduction for newcomers and a deeper study for seasoned practitioners.

The book "Killing for Krishna" by Henry Doktorski investigates the murder of Stephen Bryant (also known as Sulochan Das) within the Hare Krishna community in the 1980s. The author explores the complex relationships, spiritual beliefs, and inner conflicts that led to this tragic event. The book delves into the motivations and ideological influences behind the crime, analyzing both the personal and religious dimensions involved.

The reaction of ISKCON gurus and devotees to "Killing for Krishna" by Henric Doctorsky is quite mixed. The book touches on sensitive and painful subjects, such as abuse of power and devotion within ISKCON, as well as internal conflicts that led to tragic outcomes, including murder. Many gurus and senior devotees believe that bringing these events to light is necessary for a truthful reflection on past mistakes, allowing the society of Krishna consciousness to move forward and avoid repeating similar situations. They see this as an opportunity for the organization to purify itself and build more transparent and trusting relationships within the community.

On the other hand, some devotees and leaders in the organization see the book as a threat, believing that it could cast a shadow over ISKCON as a whole and create a negative perception of the organization. These critics argue that the book focuses on isolated incidents that are in the past and might lead to mistrust toward the community, which has since changed and developed.

Some also feel that Doctorsky's book presents a one-sided view of events, offering a subjective perspective that dramatizes the internal conflicts within the movement.

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

Bhakti Charu Swami’s words are a testament to his discovery of a source of the love that would, in effect, fulfill his search for lost loves in the earlier portions of his life. The relationships with his mother, relatives, friends, caring godbrothers, and ultimately his spiritual master represent phases in our author’s search for love. And thus A Search Fulfilled is an appropriate subtitle for Ocean of Mercy. I would suggest that the author is ultimately led to finding such an ocean in his own heart through the various loves in his life, culminating in the love of his spiritual master, for his search would be comprised of unlimited acts of grace (kṛpā-sindhu).

The book From Milwaukee to Mayapur by Steven J. Rosen is a biography of Jayapataka Swami, one of the prominent spiritual leaders of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). It provides an in-depth account of his life, tracing his journey from his early years in Milwaukee, USA, to his spiritual path and significant contributions to the development of the Vaishnava tradition.

The author highlights key events in Jayapataka Swami’s life, including his meeting with Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, his initiation, and his missionary work in India, particularly in Mayapur, where he played a vital role in developing the spiritual center. The book emphasizes not only his leadership qualities but also his profound dedication to the ideals of service to God and humanity.

Special focus is given to Jayapataka Swami’s missionary efforts, his work in spreading Vaishnava philosophy worldwide, and his engagement with devotees from diverse cultures. Through this biography, Steven J. Rosen presents an inspiring example of a life fully devoted to service.

This book is valuable both for Krishna devotees and for a broader audience interested in the lives of extraordinary spiritual leaders, their mission, and their impact on the global spiritual community.

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

The Rūpa Raghunātha Vāṇī Publications released a multi-volume edition of the Valmiki Ramayana, featuring original Sanskrit text, transliterations, translations, and commentary from a Vaishnava perspective. The project was inspired by Srila Prabhupada’s vision, aligning with his method for the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The main editor of this edition is Vidvan Gauranga Das, ensuring authenticity in translation while adhering to Vaishnavism’s spiritual teachings​

Many people today, whether they are part of ISKCON or not, believe that while the Vedic tradition is full of spiritual knowledge, technical material knowledge is either absent or inaccessible to the modern person. In his essay collection, Vedic Mathematics and the Nature of Time, Vasyl Semenov (Dvija Govinda Das) systematically takes us through mathematical aspects of the Vedic tradition that are equivalent to the techniques in the Western World, and in some cases predate them by centuries.

The first essay, “Vedic Mathematics,” highlights contributions by Indian mathematicians dating as far back as the second century BCE with Pingala, “the founder of combinatorics and the first scientist to use the binary number system.” Semenov also reveals early Vedic innovations in the areas of Arithmetics, Geometry, and Trigonometry.

Not stopping there, in “The Nature of Time,” Semenov delves into time and consciousness, topics of much interest but little understanding within the modern scientific community. He shows that the notion of time, if studied in enough depth, leads one to consider the ultimate question: How do we free ourselves from the influence of time? This essay explores philosophy from Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita to help guide the reader toward a solution to this age-old query, which may ultimately lead them to the practice of Krishna Consciousness.

In the final essay, “Artificial Intelligence: Can a Computer Possess Consciousness?”, after giving a brief historical review of this controversial issue, Semenov combines the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita with the insightful analysis of Sir Roger Penrose to suggest that “no computer program is capable of simulating manifestations of consciousness.”

Dvija Govinda’s collection of essays provides a good introduction for a way to approach the topics of time and consciousness that stands in opposition to the modern mechanistic philosophy prevalent today. These two topics tend to baffle materialistic thinkers, and books that are written from a devotional perspective, such as Vedic Mathematics and the Nature of Time, explaining the spiritual alternative, contribute valuable information for those who wish to introduce others to the practice of bhakti-yoga.

To order a paperback edition of Vedic Mathematics and the Nature of Time, click here or search for it on your country-specific Amazon store. For additional information and wholesale orders, please email Prishni Devi Dasi.

About our Reviewer

Jack Dodson (Kala-Svarupa Das) earned a Master’s in Particle Physics from Temple University in 2022. He started working with the Bhaktivedanta Institute for Higher Studies (BIHS) in 2021, and is currently involved in several BIHS research projects in cosmology, fundamental physics, and neuroscience.

The Emergence of Women’s Voices in ISKCON is a written documentary of the voices of the first-generation pioneer women of ISKCON. In this anthology they pass the torch of wisdom and lessons learned to future generations. Thirty-four authors speak about their relationships with Srila Prabhupada, what women bring to Krishna consciousness, and the importance of women’s voices in ISKCON. They tackle difficult issues with philosophy, reason, common sense, decades of personal experience, and Krishna consciousness.

The essays in this anthology will bring light to ISKCON members around the world. They are as applicable today as they were yesterday and can be used as a road map to move into the future. Many senior devotees have poured out their wise hearts here, having thought deeply about this topic. They knew Srila Prabhupada and lived under his roof.

“It’s a really great compilation — one that will empower the Vaishnavis and educate the leaders.” Swarup Damodar Das (National Secretary and Chairman of ISKCON South Africa National Council)

“A must-read. Emergence opened a floodgate of emotion and gave me solace and wisdom.” –Mmdd

Video trailer: https://vaishnaviministry.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Emergence-Launch-Video1.mp4
Audiobook: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/audiobook/the-emergence-of-women-s-voices-in-iskcon

This essay explores death as a transformative force in Hindu scriptures, emphasizing how crises often lead seekers to spiritual enlightenment. Drawing from the *Bhagavatam*, *Katha-Upanishad*, and *Bhagavad Gita*, it presents death as both a teacher and a gateway to ultimate truth. The narrative of Parikshit, the discourse of Yama to Naciketas, and Krishna’s guidance to Arjuna highlight the impermanence of worldly life and the existence of an eternal, indestructible Reality. The essay challenges Western notions of life and death, introducing concepts of reincarnation, cosmic time, and the illusory nature of perceived reality. It argues that true wisdom lies in transcending material existence and recognizing the omnipresent eternal essence, which neither time nor destruction can touch.

The book is a profound exploration of the life and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, one of the greatest spiritual figures of India and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

The author provides a detailed account of Chaitanya’s childhood, youth, and spiritual quest, unveiling His mission—to spread the practice of *bhakti-yoga* through the chanting of the Holy Name (*Hare Krishna maha-mantra*). Readers will discover the philosophy of *achintya-bheda-abheda* (the simultaneous oneness and difference between the soul and God), Chaitanya’s miracles and pastimes, as well as His travels across India.

The book is enriched with quotations from Vedic scriptures, making it a valuable resource for researchers of the Vaishnava tradition. It is suitable for both sincere seekers of truth and those who wish to deepen their understanding of India’s spiritual heritage.

Conclusion: This inspiring work highlights the uniqueness of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as a divine personality and offers practical guidance for following the path of *bhakti*.

Lord Chaitanya, discovered, was considered an especially confidential and esoteric incarnation of God by the orthodox Gaudiya Vaishnavas, who base their conclusion on prophecies from the ancient Vedic scriptures. These scriptures foretold that God Himself would descend in the current age as a perfect devotee, and that He would start a movement based upon the chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The prediction, in fact, came to pass, for Lord Chaitanya spearheaded a spiritual renaissance in sixteenth-century India that had as its foundation the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra.

🔹To be sure, there have been great religious reformations and spiritual uprisings in the Western world. But to my mind, the depth and profundity of the tradition that was revitalized by Lord Chaitanya is incomparable to anything before or since. And Shrila Prabhupada represented the tenth generation of perfect masters in an esoteric line of disciplic succession (parampara) from the Lord Himself.² (See chart on page xzz.) Enthusiastic if also unqualified to become part of that prestigious disciplic chain, I was initiated by Shrila Prabhupada in July 1975.

🔹As I continued my research, I found that Lord Chaitanya's achievements were not simply abstract or philosophical. Five hundred years before Gandhi, this remarkable personality inaugurated a massive nonviolent civil-disobedience movement against the Islamic occupational government in India. He swept aside many of the stifling restrictions of the hereditary caste system and made it possible for all people to transcend social barriers and achieve the highest platform of spiritual enlightenment.

🔹In doing so, He freed India's religious life from the stranglehold of a proud, intellectual elite. Superseding popular but outmoded rituals and superficial formulas, He introduced a revolutionary spiritual movement based on the world's oldest and most comprehensive religious scriptures, the Vedas. This movement, He taught, would have universal appeal because it was based upon the Absolute Truth, which transcends sectarian notions of race or creed. Lord Chaitanya's theory has today been proven; His movement has been spread to every nation of the world by Shrila Prabhupada and his International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Steven J. Rosen

Table of Contents

Introduction
Basic plant anatomy
Organic vs. Inorganic
Obtaining a Tulasi plant
Caring for young seedlings
Growing media - Soil
Watering
Lights
Training
Nutrients
Humidity, Temperature, and Circulation
Pests
Collecting leaves and flowers
Transplanting
Proper consciousness and cleanliness
Supplies list and sources

Japa: Nine Keys from the Siksastaka to Improve Your Japa" by Bhurijana Das is a profound guide for spiritual seekers aiming to deepen their practice of chanting Krishna’s holy names. Drawing from the sacred Siksastaka prayers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the book presents nine practical "keys" to enhance the quality of japa (meditative chanting). Bhurijana Das, an experienced devotee and teacher, combines scriptural wisdom from texts like Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and Bhajana Rahasya with personal insights, making it accessible and inspiring. The book also includes a bonus Vrindavana Meditations booklet with stunning photos and reflections, adding a meditative dimension. It’s an invaluable resource for anyone striving to connect more deeply with the Holy Name.