Heart & Soul Connection: A Devotional Guide to Marriage, Service & Love, is a heartfelt offering written to assist devotees on their paths to obtain the deepest desires of their hearts: to love Krishna, to serve one another, and to share spirituality by word and deed. This book is a contribution by all the devotees in the Grihastha Vision Team, a vital part of ISKCON aiming to strengthen the relationships among the married devotees. The team combined their vast experiences to make the publication of this book a reality.

This book has the power to transform your perception and experience of household life in Krishna consciousness. This transformative power is due to the love and dedication that went into it. Receive it in that spirit. In this way, even if there is something that does not resonate with you, stay open to the spirit of the work. It can create opportunities for greater dialogue and exchange that can contribute even more to the growth of the grihastha ashrama and Srila Prabhupada’s mission.

The content of this book gives scripturally-based and practical strategies to help devotees use the grihastha ashrama for its highest purpose: going home, back to Godhead. The broad range of topics is critical for successfully negotiating the challenges that come with household life and for deeply appreciating the blessings and joys that come with it as well. The opening chapter presents the foundational principles that support Krishna conscious family life based on Srila Prabhupada’s teachings. These principles and values are woven throughout the subsequent chapters. Understanding such topics as the roles of husband and wife, social responsibility, affection and intimacy, and finances, to name a few, are necessary for devotee marriages to flourish.

A book of this nature is surely long overdue and hopefully will inspire other similar works. Heart & Soul Connection: A Devotional Guide to Marriage, Service & Love significantly highlights the growth-enhancing potential of the grihastha ashrama. His Holiness Giriraja Swami wrote the Foreword.

Contents from the book:

Foreword: The Purpose of the Grihastha Ashrama.by Girija Swami

1: Foundations: Twelve Principles for Successful Krishna Conscious Family Life.

2: Ready or Not, Here I Come: Preparation for Marriage

3: Let’s Talk About It: Open and Honest Communication.

4: Roles of the Husband and Wife in the Vaishnava Community.

5: Krishna’s Economics: Spiritualizing Your Wealth.

6: Affection and Physical Intimacy: The “Hot Potato”

7: Sacred Parenting: What Krishna Conscious Parents Want to Know

8: Marriage Under Attack: Dealing with Serious Conflict, Separation, and Divorce

9: A Balanced and Sustainable Marriage

10: Giving Back: Making a Social Contribution

Concluding Words

Discussion Guide: Suggested Questions for Individual or Group Study