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ISKCON Loses 26 2nd Avenue
From my good friend and fellow community member Yadunath DasDid you just experience the same sinking feeling in your heart upon reading this headline that I did upon writing it?A few months back, I...
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The Space of Faith
In the style of Mertonian homage, a simple meditation on thoughts, ideas, and realizations from our discussion of "Thoughts in Solitude" by Thomas Merton at our recent meeting of the Bhakti Center Book...
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The Strange Art of Relationships
Five years ago I began my life as a monk at a Hindu/Vedic temple in the hills of West Virginia. It was the time of my life in which I burst out of the bubble of my previous life, as a middle-class,...
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Why Suffering And Spirituality Go Hand-In-Hand
The latest from my good friend and fellow monk Gadadhar Pandit Dasa at the Huffington PostIt's quite natural for those of faith to turn towards God during difficult times. Even if one has a regular...
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A Deeper Understanding of Ahimsa
My new article from BeliefnetTwice a week, as part of our outreach of Hindu culture from our monastery in the East Village, myself and a few other monks teach classes on the art of vegetarian cuisine...
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The Thread Underneath The Pearls: Final Reflection on Tour Bus
by Chris Fici, Monk and Teacher at the Bhakti Center From the Faith House Manhattan blog One of my favorite verses in the Bhagavad-Gita is when Krishna tells his warrior friend Arjuna of how He is the...
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Faith House Manhattan Tour Bus: Experience Your Neighbor's Faith to Deepen...
From Samir Selmanovic and Bowie Snodgrass from Faith House Manhattan at the Huffington PostClick through the slideshow to look at photos from the Faith House Manhattan Tour Bus:We are coming to a...
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Occupy Yourself
My latest essay at the World Faith Blog Nearly a decade ago, I had the fortune of reading American Holocaust by David Stannard, which detailed the horrific conquest of Native American culture behind...
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The Strange Art of Relationships, Part 2
Continuing from our previous meditation on the strange art of relationships, let me humbly offer some straight dope. There is no way we can avoid conflict in our relationships, nor should we want to...
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The Strange Art of Relationships, Part 3
I have been trying to relate some of my own realizations, for better or for worse, on the strange art of relationships. This is perhaps the most difficult of the arts to grasp, for we are speaking of...
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Eco-Ethics
A new essay, based on a lecture from Varsana Swami, published at Elephant JournalIn 1965, teacher and scholar A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami transplanted the culture of Bhakti, or the yoga of devotion, from...
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The Regulative Principles of Freedom
The Vedic spiritual tradition, as magnificently manifested in the Bhagavat Purana, the volume of stories, fables, and lessons from the life of Krishna, the Divine Personality of God, and His followers...
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The Heart of Mantra Meditation
One of my favorite passages in the Bhagavad-gītā is where Krishna, the personification of the Divine, tells his stricken warrior friend Arjuna that:For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the...
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Why Being a Hindu Has Made Me a Better Catholic
My debut piece at the Huffington PostI recently took a pilgrimage to Corpus Christi Church on 121st Street off of Broadway, here in New York City. This is where Thomas Merton, the great Catholic...
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Occupy Wall Street: Don't Dehumanize The 'Evil Banker'
From the "Occupy Wall Street" section at The Huffington PostAs a spiritual person, I have felt aloof from the Occupy Wall Street movement. I have thought about this aloofness a great deal, spoken and...
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IChant: The Ultimate App
From Elephant JournalGenius is a multifaceted jewel. It has many rough edges, and it doesn’t care for any mundane norms or compromises.The package that genius is wrapped in doesn’t necessarily belie...
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A Hindu Response to Gay Rights
From the Religion section at The Huffington PostI was personally very impressed and moved by President Obama's decision to come out openly and vocally in support of same-sex marriage. For all the guff...
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A Case For Celibacy, Sobriety & Sanity.
Read the full version of my new article at Elephant JournalI choose not to have sex unless my intention would be to produce a child with my wife. In all other circumstances, I strive for a complete and...
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Q & A with Swami B. V. Tripurari“Times change and with new information new opinions form, and if they are spiritually reasonable, the task for devotees is to support them with scriptural...
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The Barking Dog of The False Ego
My latest essay at The Huffington Post ReligionOur ego is one of the most intimidating and inscrutable realities we face in our lives. Countless philosophers, spiritualists, seekers and armchair...
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Guides, Gurus and Grounding In Our Spiritual Journey
My latest from The Huffington Post ReligionToday is Guru Purnima, and this spiritual festival takes on a very special resonance for me this year. Just a few weeks ago, I was formally initiated into...
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Loving Ourselves, Part 1
One of the most wonderful aspects of our society of devotees in ISKCON is the tremendous level of diversity we all share. Within this diversity of race, nationality, and gender, there is a...
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When Saying "You Are Not Your Body" Is Not Enough
This is the first in a series of essays I am writing based on my thoughts and experience as a devotee of Krishna, associated with ISKCON, in the 21stCentury. These thoughts are mine and mine alone,...
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When Saying "It's Just Kali-Yuga" Is Not Enough
Dr. James Cone is one of the formative personalities in the living history of liberation theology, the spiritual/religious framework of knowledge and practice based around the ideal that God, and those...
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Why This Devotee of God Doesn’t Think To Be Atheist Is To Be A Demon
There are two kinds of people in this world. Devotees and demons.I think this is absolutely true.But let’s parse this out a bit.First of all, what is the source of my seemingly eccentric and dogmatic...
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