Books (by Author)

For thousands of years, people on a spiritual quest have consulted the intensely philosophical Upanishads. As the name implies (upa-near; ni-down; shad-to sit), one is advised to sit near a spiritual teacher to learn. Upanishad means “the supreme controller. the knowledge that brings one nearer to the Supreme Person, Krsna” This translation and commentary are guided by scholarship, and devotion in spirituality, in the ligne of the greatest Gaudiya Vaishnavas such as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Maharaja, the spiritual master of the author, which is directly descending from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The translation and commentary of Srila Prabhupada strictly adheres to the book’s intention, assuring you of a legitimate understanding of the depths of Upanishadic knowledge.
Sri Isopanishad is one of the first books Srila Prabhupada published in the course of establishing the Hare Krishna movement in the Western world. Its eighteen mantras—Vedic hymns—are meant to focus the mind in meditation on the Supreme Person, Krishna. The 108 Upanishads are considered the essence of all the Vedas, and Ishopanishad is foremost among them. Discover the distilled essence of all knowledge in these eighteen enlightening verses.For thousands of years, people on a spiritual quest have consulted the mystical, intensely philosophical Upanishads. As the name implies (upa—near; ni—down; shad—to sit), one is advised to sit near a spiritual teacher to learn. To learn what? This Upanishad’s name gives the clue: Isha means “the supreme controller.” Let us sit near the spiritual guide to learn about the supreme controller: God. The process is simple, provided one learns from an authentic guide. The translation and commentary of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada strictly adheres to the book’s intention, assuring you of a legitimate understanding of the depths of Upanishadic knowledge.

Sri Isopanishad’s mantras direct our attention toward how the Supreme Person is the complete whole of existence, and that all manifestations emanating from Him—including our bodies and the world we inhabit—are also complete in and of themselves. The Isa—”supreme controller”—for whom Isopanishad is named, is poetically described as being simultaneously far away and near, walking and not walking, within and outside of everything.

In the book’s Introduction—adapted from a lecture Srila Prabhupada gave in London in 1968—he explains how the Vedas’ teachings are perfect; Vedic sound is not of this world, not created by man, and thus not subject to human frailty and imperfection. Isopanishad is one of the principal Upanishads in Vedic literature that present the ultimate philosophical conclusions of all scripture.

Srila Prabhupada composed Sri Isopanishad with the same scholarly standards as his Bhagavad-gita As It Is and Srimad-Bhagavatam, providing the original Sanskrit verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. In his words, “This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident.”

Since birth and death deal with the essence of our being, it is a subject of the utmost relevance to everyone.
Our reincarnation after death is a predetermined fact until we choose to break the bondage. First we must become open to the possibilities of life outside our empirical understanding.
Harvard biophysicist D. P. Dupey writes, ?We may lead ourselves down a blind alley by adhering dogmatically to the assumption that life can be explained entirely by what we know of the laws of nature. By remaining open to the ideas embodied in the Vedic tradition of India, modern scientists can see their own disciplines from a new perspective and further the aim of all scientific endeavor: the search for truth.?
Coming Back gives common examples from the Vedas that point to the truth of reincarnation and how we can make progress toward releasing ourselves from coming back.

The Vedic literature has prophesised about this present age of quarrel and hypocrisy or the Kali-yuga. The Kali-yuga means the fourth age. There are four different kinds of ages in the vedic timeline: Satya-yuga, Treta-yuga, Ova para-yuga, and Kali-yuga. Just like there are six seasons, or four seasons in a year, similarly, in one day of Brahma there are one hundred cycles of four yugas. Four yugas means forty-three hundred thousands of years. It is a very long period. That is the duration of four yugas. When one thousand yugas pass, then one day of Brahma-twelve hours are finished. It is a big calculation. Anyway, there are four yugas-Satya-yuga, Dvapara-yuga, Treta-yuga, and Kali-yuga.
In Satya-yuga, the religious principles are followed strictly, cent percent. That is called Satya-yuga. And in Treta-yuga, twenty-five percent reduced. That means seventy-five percent religious principles and twenty-five percent irreligious. And in the Dvapara-yuga, fifty-fifty: fifty percent religious and fifty percent irreligious. And the Kali-yuga, seventy-five percent irreligious and twenty-five percent religious, gradually reducing to nil-no more religion. Then finished. Then there will be devastation. Again Satya-yuga will begin. This is the way of change of Satya-yuga-Satya, Trete, Dvapara, Kali. The duration of Satya-yuga is about eighteen hundred thousand of years. Eighteen hundred thousands of years. Similarly, Treta-yuga, about twelve hundred thousands of years. Similarly, Dvapara-yuga, eight hundred thousands of years. And Kali-yuga four hundred thousands of years. This is the beginning of Kali-yuga. Out of about four hundred thousands of years, we have passed only 5,000 years. Kali-yuga has begun just after the Battle of Kuruksetra. So we have passed

When law of karma acts on every individual and makes everyone responsible for the actions performed during one’s life, it also mysteriously determines ones destiny at the crucial moment called death. Near death experiences may have gained a lot of interest in the past few decades, but their intricate details and mysteries have been well documented in the ancient Vedic scriptures thousands of years ago. This amazing narrative by H.D.G. A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is based on ancient Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam and Bhagavad Gita. The book will guide you to have a second chance, by employing techniques of Bhakti yoga to overcome the material obstacles of life, meet the challenges of death, and peacefully attain spiritual enlightenment.

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are not new phenomena; the Srimad-Bhagavatam, written thousands of years ago, recounts this NDE occurring in the much deeper past.

Ajamila, a young, religious student, is drawn astray to a life of debauchery and crime. At the appointed hour of his death, he witnesses an extremely unusual conversation between the agents of death and the agents of the Supreme Person, Vishnu. Ajamila receives a second chance to live, and his life is transformed forever.

During the winter of 1970-71, Srila Prabhupada was traveling in India with some of his Western disciples. They had heard him speak about Ajamila several times, and at their request he gave a systematic series of lectures on Ajamila’s history. This book includes the original Bhagavatam verses outlining Ajamila’s NDE, selections from Srila Prabhupada’s published commentary, and excerpts from transcriptions of his lectures during the ’70-71 India tour.