by Debra Sue Lynn Lord, I come to You this night offering a humble prayer of gratitude… Creator of all the worlds! Cause of all causes! For Your glory, Lord, hear this heart’s song: You are my Rock, my Fortress. Guarded. Protected. Sheltered, but not hidden. You are the Changeless Now, the Absolute Truth. It […]
by Ananda Vrindavan Devi There is a great verse in the Bhagavad-gita that speaks to balance. “He who is regulated in his habits of eating, sleeping, recreation and work can mitigate all material pains by practicing the yoga system.” [Ch.6.17] And we know from practical experience that when things are out of balance they don’t […]
by Maya Angelou —– When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety. When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear. When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, […]
Today, on this day of Guru Purnima, the day that traditionally the guru is honored, our world has lost the presence of a rare and holy teacher and sadhu. His Holiness Bhakti Charu Swami has left this world, and so many are weeping, feeling his loss. He was gentle and kind, and always most ardent […]
Last Sunday, June 28, the Bhakti Center held its monthly Urban Devi Sanga with special guest Visakha Devi Dasi. In this sanga, Visakha discussed “Exploring Faith, An Essential Aspect of the Spiritual Path”. What is faith and why does it sometimes wax and wane? What can we do to enhance it and make it steady even in the midst […]
~ by Acyuta Gopi *To listen to this poem spoken by Taruni Radha Devi Dasi, please click here. —– I look in the mirror And I see this body With this color That I am supposed To give up identifying with But somehow, I can’t seem to see Beyond the brown. Brown Like the […]
~produced and directed by Jahnava Hausner “Women of Bhakti is a tribute to the unsung heroines of Bhakti.” Producer Jahnava Hausner and award-winning filmmaker Hilary Tapper take viewers on an extraordinary journey into the lives of historical and modern devotees of bhakti yoga in this groundbreaking film. Women of Bhakti, shot in India and America, is […]
Today, June 19th is the 85th birthday of Dr. Kenneth Cracknell, a Methodist minister, a respected scholar and author, and one of the co-founders of our Vaisnava Christian Dialogue. This dialogue, originally held in Wales, has continued each year for the last almost twenty-five years here in Washington, DC. Kenneth is now in a nursing home […]
Presented by Jahnavi Harrison Here’s one of those tiny jewellike meditations by Jahnavi Harrison. Just right to center and focus your day. We live by the wisdom of realized devotees, like Jahnavi, on the path of Bhakti. We can try to imbibe her mood of offering to Krsna, so that we can come to find […]
~ by Rukmini Walker Today is the Disappearance Day of His Holiness Bhaktitirtha Swami, the world’s first African American Vaisnava (that is, the Bhakti path…) swami. Disappearance Day means the day he passed away from this world, in full consciousness of divinity, in full consciousness of Krsna. Someone in the full consciousness that he possessed does […]
Photograph by Tatiana Kiseleva
Urban Devi is a community of women who gather to explore and excavate their identities as urban women living the spiritual life. An urban devi is in the world, but not of the world. She acts in the world to uplift, and shift the consciousness of those around her to a higher place of Bhakti, or love in action.