Bhakti Collective

  • A Little Roadside Temple – and the Lamp of Devotion

    We have arrived in India and are on our way to Haridwar to enter the merciful waters of Mother Ganga. We will stay in the guesthouse of the Dev Sanskriti University for two days and deliver a workshop as part of their second festival on yoga, culture and spirituality. Then we will continue our pilgrimage…

  • Franny and Zooey and Kirtan

    Something I read today from J.D. Salinger’s novel “Franny and Zooey”. Zooey is trying to convince his sister Franny that she is taking shelter of the Jesus prayer with the wrong motivation based on her misunderstanding of the character of Jesus. I thought it had some interesting implications regarding how we understand kirtan and mantra…

  • Yoga Made Easy By Music: How Kirtan Works

    ESSAY: YOGA MADE EASY BY MUSIC: HOW KIRTAN WORKS An Essay by Dhanurdhara Swami.

  • Radhanath Swami Celebrates the Life of Aindra Das With Tears of Gratitude.

    I believe every stone, brick and pillar of Krishna Balaram Temple and every tree and particle of sacred dust in Raman Reti is permeated with the sound vibration of Aindra Prabhu’s devotion. If we open our hearts we will hear.

  • Kirtan Insights from Aindra Das

    INTERVIEW: Shortly before passing away, the legend of kirtan shares both practical knowledge and deep insights. Interview by Dhanurdhara Swami.

  • In Loving Memory of Aindra Das

    In Loving Memory of Aindra Das: “His song was the cry of a dying man.A desolate voice accompanied only by a frail harmonium scale, slow and slightly off beat – crawling, barely dragging along. A man in the desert, drying up and desperate, crying for some water – just a small cup – just a…

  • Oddisi Dance: Questions for Vrindarani Dasi

    Oddisi Dance: Questions for Vrindarani Dasi Interview by Kaustubha das Vrindarani Dasi (originally from St. Petersburg) is a 17 year old student at the Venunad Kala Kendra school of Odissi Dance in Vrindavan, India. Recently I had the pleasure of spending some time with her and her family in their beautiful home in Vrindavan. After…

  • Photos of Kumbha Mela

    Here’s a link to some nice photos of the current Kumbh Mela posted by Vinod Bangarshettar on Smashing Pics. Kaustubha das

  • Focus on the Essential and Escape the “Tyranny” of 1000 Urgent Things

    “There is no stronger obstruction to one’s self-interest than thinking other subject matters to be more pleasing than one’s own self-realization.” Srimad Bhagavatam 4.22.32

  • Remembering Her Grace Rasajna Devi Dasi

    This morning I got the news that my dear god-sister, Her Grace Rasajna devi dasi, passed away from this world. I will miss her dearly. I can’t remember where I heard the saying, but it goes something like, “One will be remembered more for how one made others feel than for what one has accomplished.”…

Got any book recommendations?