Spirit Matters

Authenticity

By Mahat Tattva Dasa
Authenticity is a popular topic these days. Many people feel that they should be authentic in expressing themselves without inhibition. For example, if I feel like burping, I should do so without consideration of social impropriety. Might as well do it as loud as I can.
Authenticity is, and has always been, [...]

You are Not This Body

By VicDicara
I’ve been sitting here for hours. It’s a funeral; my friend died.
At uncertain intervals people get off their plastic chairs, fine tune their careful solemnity, and walk slowly to the coffin. The coffin perplexes me.
See, this is my first funeral and I’m still trying to figure things out. My friend is gone—and what does [...]

The Journey Home – Autobiography of an American Swami

BOOK REVIEW of: Autobiography of an American Swami
By Radhanath Swami (San Rafael, CA: Mandala Publishing, 2008)
Reviewed by Steven J. Rosen
Every now and then a book is released which becomes a spiritual classic–a book that brings people in touch with a distant world, opens minds to new possibilities and becomes standard reading for spiritual seekers. Autobiography [...]

Kirtan – The Music of Divine Connection

Kirtan is a form of devotional chanting. Its roots go back over 500 years to India. It is a form of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of devotion, and has the power to open the heart. The singing is accompanied by musical instruments and rhythmic drumming. The audience is encouraged to participate by chanting, clapping and [...]

Mantra – The Sacred Sound

Way, way back in time (long before what’s recorded in the thickest McGraw-Hill history book) a simple soul sat cross-legged on the clean earth, emanating sound vibration.
Retrace your steps through the ages and arrive at a time when the waters are fresh, the air is pure, the people are peaceful, and the earth is bountifully [...]

Economics: Materialistic, Green, & Transcendental

By Mahat Tattva Dasa
The modern economic system, being driven by materialistic incentives and measured by production and consumption, is deliberately designed by vested interests to create insatiable desires. Obviously, the more people buy, the more money is made by the sellers. When these sellers are primarily motivated by short-term profit, which is the case [...]

Focus for Global Unity

By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Right Center of Affection
Your society is known as the Inter­national Student Society. There are many other international societies, such as the United Nations. The idea of an international society is very nice, but we must try to understand what should be the central idea of an international [...]

Pointing

By Ravindra Svarupa Dasa

Sometime in the 1730’s a young Scottish philosopher tried, and failed, to find himself. David Hume reflected upon this experience in his first book, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739). The passage is much quoted and anthologized. I encountered it frequently as an undergraduate philosophy major, for my teachers regarded it [...]

Individuality

By Vic DiCara

During his days as a monk, Vic DiCara stayed involved with the hardcore scene. Playing with some of the most popular bands of the time not only brought him fame but gave him a chance to field many questions from his fans and others.
HERE’s a letter he got:
Let’s face it man, you joined [...]

Evidence for Reincarnation

By Madhavendra Puri Dasa
Forty years of research by Professor Ian Stevenson (University of Virginia) provides impressive evidence that each one of us is different from his/her physical body and is able to function independently of it. Stevenson has published dozens of carefully-researched cases (see bibliography) in which young children report verifiable details of what they [...]