philosophy

Srila Prabhupada – He is the founder and spiritual master of our worldwide society called ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

To understand Srila Prabhupada and this philosophy more, please refer to these websites- Srila Prabhupada Link Page and Srila Prabhupada Site

Lord Sri Krishna, sometimes spelled Krsna – He is the eternal Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of everything that is. He is the father of all living beings, He is the master of all of His multifarious energies, and He is the source of all the unlimited spiritual and material worlds. Please see this site- Sri Krishna, and these online books- Bhagavad-gita and Krsna Book

Lord Chaitanya, or Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – He is the incarnation of Sri Krishna Himself, who appeared as a devotee of Krishna only 500 years ago in India, and He performed many amazing pastimes that are elaborately recorded in four major biographies written by His contemporary devotees. Please see this site- Sri Caitanya

Lord Vishnu – He is an expansion of Lord Krishna. Lord Ramachandra is also an expansion of Krishna.

Vaishnava – A devotee of Lord Vishnu.

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Acharya – A great spiritual master who teaches by example.

Dasa – The servant; surname for male initiates in the lineage of Lord Chaitanya.

Dasi – surname for female initiates.

Guru – A spiritual teacher and instructor of the science of Krishna Consciousness.

Thakur – An honorary title given to a great Vaishnava who has departed this world.

Jayananda – “The triumph of bliss;” Jayananda Dasa – spiritual name given to Jim Kohr upon initiation by his guru, Srila Prabhupada.

Jayanandanuga – A person who follows in the mood of Jayananda Prabhu.

Ratha-yatra – This is the ancient (and now global) religious festival of the chariots, a colorful annual procession of three large carts carrying the Deities of Lord Jagannatha, His sister Lady Subhadra, and His brother Lord Balarama. Jayananda Dasa was the indispensable expert at building these carts and organizing the festival and feast in the United States.

Kirtan – Glorification of God through congregational chanting of His Holy Name. Hari-nama (“the name of God”) also means to chant in congregation; and sankirtan means kirtan with a group of people chanting loudly in the temple or out on the streets.

Namabhasa – A dim reflection of the Holy Name, yet which grants liberation.

Japa – Chanting the Holy Name to oneself on prayer beads.

Mantra – Literally means “To free the mind;” a Vedic sound vibration that liberates the chanter from illusion, especially the Maha-Mantra, which is chanted publicly in kirtan or privately as japa.

Maha-Mantra – The Great Chant of Deliverance – Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. The prayer means, “O Lord, O energy of the Lord, please engage me in Your service.”

Prasadam – Also spelled prasad – Spiritual food that is first offered to Lord Sri Krishna, which has great spiritual potency for those who honor it by partaking of it. Bhoga is the food meant for offering to Krishna before it becomes prasadam. Maha-prasadam or maha is the food offering given directly to Sri Krishna on the temple altar, which has special spiritual potency. (Maha as a prefix also means “great,” as used in other places in this book.)

Bhakti-yoga – The process of reestablishing one's personal relationship with the Supreme Lord by performing devotional service. Bhakti means love, or devotional service to Lord Sri Krishna.

Jiva – One of the innumerable individual souls, who are eternally part and parcel of Lord Sri Krishna and who are all the eternal servants of their supreme father, Lord Sri Krishna.

Maya – The illusory darkness of material existence. It is the error of thinking that we are separate from Lord Sri Krishna. The literal meaning of maya is “that which is not.”

Kali-yuga – The Vedas tell us that the jivas go through four great ages on this planet that perpetually rotate in scheduled cosmic time; Kali-yuga is the fourth age of this cycle, which we are experiencing in the present, and it is the most degraded age of all, full of hypocrisy and quarrel. The means of deliverance from this sinful age of Kali-yuga is the chanting of the Lord's Holy Names, especially the Maha-Mantra.

Sri Siksastakam – Pronounced “Shikshashtakam,” these eight verses are the only writings personally left by Lord Chaitanya, although He inspired His direct disciples through their hearts to write many volumes of transcendental literature about the pastimes, names, forms and qualities of Lord Sri Krishna.

Vedas – A vast body of spiritual literature, compiled 5,000 years ago, which are the original revealed scriptures.

Bhagavad-Gita – The great scripture, recorded 5,000 years ago, which is spoken directly by Lord Sri Krishna Himself. It is known as the “Song of God.”

Srimad Bhagavatam – The great scripture about the life and divine pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna, also written 5,000 years ago. This book is known as the literary incarnation of God.

Sri Chaitanya-Charitamrita – The great biography and scripture of the life and pastimes of Lord Chaitanya, whose teachings and sublime transcendental activities were recorded only 500 years ago.

Sri Siksastakam

“Eight Beautiful Prayers”

by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Since the Siksastakam, which are the eight verses Lord Chaitanya personally wrote, are referred to in several places in this site, we will now print the entire prayer. Also we will recite the Maha-Mantra, composed of the Holy Names of Lord Sri Krishna, which is the great chant of deliverance, and we encourage everyone to try to chant this prayer for its great spiritual benefit.

(1) Glory to the Sri Krishna sankirtan, which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years and extinguishes the fire of conditional life, of repeated birth and death. This sankirtan movement is the prime benediction for humanity at large because it spreads the rays of the benediction moon. It is the life of all transcendental knowledge. It increases the ocean of transcendental bliss, and it enables us to fully taste the nectar for which we are always anxious.

(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 Krishna 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 chanting Your holy names, but I am so unfortunate that I have no attraction for them.

(3) One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.

(4) O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.

(5) O son of Maharaja Nanda (Krishna), I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as one of the atoms of Your lotus feet.

(6) O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs on my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?

(7) O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.

(8) I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly in 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.