The four pillars of sinful life are these: illicit sex, meat-eating and intoxication and gambling. If we stop these voluntarily, this is called austerity, austerity, tapasya. Austerity means voluntarily accept some painful condition. So those who are habituated to all these things, namely illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication and gambling, to give up these habits, it

The time is very bad at the present moment everywhere, especially in India. Of course, India's original culture is all right. But unfortunately, our modern leaders, they are killing the original culture. They want to introduce Western culture. Now it is openly there are beef shop, wine shop. So what can be done? It is Kali-yuga. Everything is possible. But those who

Prabhupada: What is that great rascal says that Krsna... Devotee: "Krsna is the chief of the tribe that lived in Central India." Prabhupada: Just see, and he's passing on as a great scholar, such a rascal. Devotee: He had 10,000, ah, subjects. [laughter] Prabhupada: All the acaryas — Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, Visnu Svami, Lord Caitanya — all of them become

In a perfect human civilization there must be a class of men fully trained as perfect brahmanas. Similarly, there must be ksatriyas to rule the country very nicely according to the injunctions of the sastras, and there must be vaisyas who can protect the cows. The word gavah indicates that cows should be given protection. Because the Vedic civilization is lost, cows

When child is sixteen years old he can do as he likes, not before that. lalayet panca varsani dasa varsani tadayet prapte tu sodase varse putram mitravad acaret This is the moral instruction of Canakya Pandita. Up to five years, don't chastise, don't take any action. Let him be free. Whatever he likes, he can do. Then after fifth year, for ten years you must be very

The Krsna consciousness movement is teaching this higher knowledge of retiring from materialistic life to return to Godhead, but unfortunately many parents are not very satisfied with this movement. Aside from the parents of our students, many businessmen are also dissatisfied because we teach our students to abandon intoxication, meat-eating, illicit sex and

Gurukrpa: That is what I think this disease is with the Siddha's group. They are looking for followers, and they do not preach in your style because they would not attract people. They are after followers, and they do not speak strongly, for then people would go away. That is their idea. They have created their own way to spread Krsna consciousness

Laksmi Nrsimha: Gurupuja was about to begin and I had positioned myself half way between the singer and Srila Prabhupada. Prabhupada’s vyasasana was to my left and the microphone was twenty feet in front of Srila Prabhupada’s direct sight. I won’t say the name of the devotee, who was leading the kirtan for posterity sake, but they had a reputation for having a kind of

It is the long-standing tradition of the Vedic system that a faithful wife dies along with her husband. This is called saha-marana. In India this system was prevalent even to the date of British occupation. At that time, however, a wife who did not wish to die with her husband was sometimes forced to do so by her relatives. Formerly that was not the case. The wife

"Cows should be protected." That is Krsna's order. They have decided to kill the cow. They have decided, "No brain. Eat." And our prayer is go-brahmana-hitaya ca, "to do good to the brahmanas and the cows." Actually it is revolutionary to the modern age

Varsana Swami: Prabhupada went for a morning walk in Talavan [New Vrindavana]. Prabhupada came out in this open field, and as soon as he stepped out of the woods and onto the field he stopped and looked at the devotees. He had a serious concern in his countenance and he asked, “Why are these fields fallow and why aren’t there any men working these fields and where is