By Visakha Dasi | from the 12-part ‘Nurturing bhakti through loving exchanges’ series

An amazing example of a charitable gift-giver is Srila Prabhupada, for he brought the priceless gift of Krishna consciousness to the world. When asked about American society’s readiness for his spiritual message, Prabhupada said, “I was not very much hopeful. That I wrote one poetry, that ‘Krishna, why You have brought me in this country? What can I do? How I shall convince them; how they will understand the philosophy? But because You have brought me here, must be there is some purpose. So all right. You make me dance as You like.’”

According to our capacity, we can also offer gifts to others. The Bhagavad-gita informs us, “Charity given out of duty, without expectation of return, at the proper time and place, and to a worthy person is considered to be in the mode of goodness.” (Gita 17.20) The idea is to give something that will benefit the recipient – ideally something that will help them on their spiritual journey.

April Challenge
Think deeply about what gift a loved one would truly appreciate and then offer it to them!

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As included in the Bhaktivedanta Manor 2026 Calendar
Calendar available to purchase online or in the Temple Gift Shop