Jaya Srila Prabhupada

Jaya Srila Prabhupada “Prabhupada’s special teachings come in 108 small verses. They show us how to become spiritually enlightened and wise. His words help us connect with something bigger than ourselves and feel close to God. These verses are like a bright light, encouraging us to grow and find peace inside ourselves, getting closer to understanding the divine.”

What is life for? What may give it meaning? Does it have any meaning at all? A sage in ancient Israel brooded over these questions. In ancient India, too, such questions drove a despairing warrior to seek answers from his divine friend Krishna. The thoughts of the sage became the wisdom book Ecclesiastes; those of Krishna, the Bhagavad-gītā. Their wisdom speaks to our deepest concerns. In Vanity Karma, wisdom meets wisdom as these two perennial classics come together, both offering us profound understanding. And a deep and authentic spiritual understanding, we may find, can infuse our lives with meaning and with joy. Vanity Karma brings you on a journey through the full text of Ecclesiastes, a journey illuminated by traditional biblical scholarship, insights from the Bhagavad-gītā, a dash of autobiography, and a steady spiritual focus.

Whenever Srila Prabhupada toured his ISKCON temples around the world, he inspired his followers by his spiritual presence, spotless character, and uncompromising devotion to Krishna. This is an adventure story about establishing the Hare Krishna movement in Germany. Prabhupada went to Germany only twice – in September 1969, where he encouraged his small band in an intimate, almost informal setting, and later in June 1974, when more than a hundred disciples greeted him. The book includes vignettes by Srila Prabhupada’s early disciples in Germany – unforgettable moments of personal service to their spiritual master, how they came to Krsna consciousness, their struggles to establish the movement and grow as devotees, their attempts to deal with becoming accepted by the German people despite mistakes. Readers will appreciate the honesty of this account, and will also accompany the German devotees to Paris, Amsterdam, London, Stockholm, Mayapur, and Vrndavana to glimpse their incredible dedication to and love for serving Srila Prabhupada.

The quality of our consciousness can go up or down based on how we see the world and act in it. When we act like the eternal spiritual beings that we are – small parts of a supreme whole – makes us happy. But if we focus our attempts at happiness on the temporary body and mind – on matter – and make those our life's priority, our consciousness will shrink and we’ll be miserable. Spiritual elevation – raising our consciousness to higher levels – happens quickly when we revive our God consciousness. In this compact book, Srila Prabhupada recommends seeing the world as it is – a temporary place full of anxiety – and then taking the road to higher consciousness by rediscovering our relationship with the Supreme Person, Krishna. Anyone can become elevated; the journey begins with a single step up.

Countless ages ago, when men and animals could speak together and powerful brahmanas could effect miracles, the uncontrollable King Ravana was terrorizing the universe. This edition records the adventure of Rama, the Lord of righteousness, as He struggles to overcome the forces of Ravana. The absorbing narration has delighted and enlightened countless generations in India, and its timeless spiritual insights are compellingly relevant in today's confused world.