“Voice” is the aspect of a literary work which conveys the distinct power and flavor of the narrator’s personality. Voice is different from style, although it depends on style for its realization.

Akrura dasa: Since January 2006, I had over 900 sessions with 250 devotees all over the world. I do coaching on the phone, on Skype, on email, and I had Gita Coaching seminars in twelve European countries. Many know about it, but not too many have become coaches.

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 as a watershed in Western philosophy.

Every year, scores of women from all over the U.S., Canada and other parts of the globe travel to the hills of West Virginia to attend the annual Vaisnavi Retreat in New Vrndavan. The ladies come, young and old, to participate in an exciting weekend of activities beseeching the mercy of Srimati Radharani, the feminine counterpart of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

In 1971, the idea of animal rights was “way out there,” a notion of the lunatic fringe. Yet this highly radical extension of civil rights to animals was contained within Prabhupada’s exposition of monarchism—a most conservative political philosophy, to say the least.

It’s the question on everyone’s minds, and one with an increasingly elusive answer in today’s world. The society we live in seems determined to convince us that we should be dissatisfied with what we have, and that if we get something else – something “better” – we’ll be happy.

Although multimedia and the Internet are no longer new to preachers, the continued development and increased availability of digital communications is giving rise to a new surge in electronic religion.

Sri Ramanujacarya (1017-1137) created 74 simhasana-dhipatis or ‘throne-holders,’ to give initiation after his death, he created what we in ISKCON would term ‘zonal acaryas.’ He chose 74 of his disciples to give diksha, each of them affiliated to one of the many temples spread far and wide throughout a large tract of India.

This question has probably caused more people to lose their faith than anything else. Why does God sit peacefully in his cloud or wherever, feet up and smoking his pipe, while we suffer all kinds of grim miseries down here on earth?

In this article I will give you several principles and perspectives that will help you become more happy, more successful and more creative and productive in your life. These principles will be useful only if you apply them.

It’s easy to blow inconveniences out of proportion. In our everyday lives, we often become so reliant on our gadgets and home comforts, that it feels as though they are additional limbs.

While Americans are still reeling from the nearly one trillion dollars which Congress gave to bail out shady bankers and investment firms on Wall Street, and "Joe the plumber" frets about how to afford essentials like home mortgages and food on the table, we are simultaneously throwing our money away for morally questionable, even reprehensible nonessentials to which--according to traditional religious or spiritual values--it shouldn't go.

Did you hear the story of the man who rode his tricycle up to the gates of our Mayapura, West Bengal temple to sell ice-cream? He had one of those tricycles you see a lot in India - the ones with a refrigerated box on the back. There’s nothing sells quite like ice-cream on a hot day. Only he wasn’t selling ice-cream at all.

Somewhere between one billion and five hundred million years ago, the famous Hope Diamond made its long and perilous journey from darkness under the ground to light. The Hope Diamond is reported to have first surfaced in the Deccan area, later called the Kingdom of Golconda, near the mighty Krishna River, which empties into the Bay of Bengal on the east coast. Most of India's largest diamonds, and all its colored ones, have been found in this region.

Many Krishna devotees have entertained the hope that one day, Hollywood will produce major motion pictures of India’s most famous spiritual epics, the Mahabharat and Ramayan. I must admit I was among them. These stories are the greatest ever told, dwarfing any previous Hollywood production in terms of scale, story, action, romance and any other category you can think of. Who wouldn’t want to see them on the big screen?

Following an election campaign is not much different from following footy season. We have our favourites and parties we loathe. We want our team to demolish the opposition and walk away with the cup. We wait in suspense for the last minutes of the election and of the final count. All well and good but will the outcome of election season actually change anything or has politics become a professional sport with the players just trying to keep the cup at home?

It has not been a good year for the world. First we are told about global food scarcity, then we hear of possible oil shortages, and now – horror of horrors – we run out of money. Surely even the staunchest believers in free market capitalism must be beginning to wonder how much longer it can last.

Part I of this article explored some of the challenges that spouses face in committing to quality time together. Part II offers a few simple techniques that can be incorporated into exchanges with our spouses to deepen respect, appreciation and love.

In the fast-paced lifestyle of today’s society, the focus is often getting things done and getting them done fast. Exchanges between spouses and between parents and children are, more often than not, fit in among the goings and comings of family activities and responsibilities. Choosing to slow down and truly connect with one another is considered a luxury that many couples feel they cannot afford. As a consequence, the demands of daily life absorb our attention and energy and we often fail to take the time to focus on the health of our relationship with our spouse.

The publication of "The Yoga of Kirtan: Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting," while sparking some mild controversy within ISKCON, has enabled me to share our philosophy in venues I wouldn't have previously thought possible. Radio shows ask for interviews, yoga studios and health food stores repeatedly invite me to lecture, to explain "the new phenomenon" known as kirtan, and numerous New Age magazines and yoga journals have either asked me to write feature articles on kirtan or have favorably reviewed the book.