As John Blacking writes, "there is excitement in rhythm and in the progression of organized sound…the motion of music alone seems to awaken in our bodies all kinds of responses" (Blacking 1973:52). And the aural and kinesthetic dimensions of the kirtan experience are only one part of a feast for the senses encountered in a Hare Krishna temple: paintings, sculptures, and brightly colored textiles decorate the various surfaces, particularly the altar of the temple, the smell of incense and flowers pervades the space, and an important aspect of worship is the prasadam feast.

I know it’s some way off but each year I make the same promise that I will remember to write for my Guru Maharaja HH Devamrita Swami’s Vyasa Puja And one of two things happen: 1) I forget 2) I’m late So this year I’m hoping to finally get my humble offering in on time. The thing is I have [...]

Deidre from New York writes:

'Hey there Kurma! So nice to see you on Facebook. Your daily blog comes right through to your page. Good reading! Was wondering if anyone had asked you about Amaranth before. My yoga teacher raves about it. Any information, please?

My Reply:

Hi Deidre! Amaranth is one of the most nutritionally wonderful pseudo-grains in existence, especially for vegetarians, since it contains some very rare and valuable amino acids normally only found in animal-origin foods. Amaranth seeds, like buckwheat and quinoa, contain protein that is unusually complete for plant sources. Most fruits and vegetables do not contain a complete set of amino acids, and thus different sources of protein must be used.

Several studies have shown that like oats, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension and cardiovascular disease; regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while improving antioxidant status and some immune parameters. While the active ingredient in oats appears to be water soluble fibre, amaranth appears to lower cholesterol via its content of plant stanols and squalene.

I often eat puffed amarath for breakfast. It makes a great food on Ekadasi fasting days when grain-based dishes are eschewed. It can be sprinkled on other cereal, but I also make it into a porridge. Mainstream supermarkets in Australia carry it on the shelves near regular breakfast cereals. Healthfood shops always carry it.

In Sanskrit, mara means death. Amara means deathless. The word in Ancient Greek (a descendant of Sanskrit) carries the same import - amaranthus: never-fading, never-dying.

Aesop’s Fables (6th century BC) compares the Rose to the Amaranth to illustrate the difference in fleeting and everlasting beauty:

A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden, and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,

“How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent! No wonder you are such a universal favourite.” But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice, "Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time: my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die. But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut; for they are everlasting.”

much more fascinating information on Amaranth...

Continuing looking at the focus of book distribution, I want to talk a bit about organization structure. Firstly there need’s to a desire to start or expand center’s Support, qualified individual’s We notice when we listen to Srila Prahupada that on several occasions when the desire to set up a temple or centre he would ask a senior [...]

1968 July 3: "They have simply a faint idea of God as order-supplier. There is no ecstasy in such simple faith; there cannot be any ecstasy."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 July 3: "We want ecstasy, it does not matter where one feels it, this church or the other. But, one who feels the ecstasy of Krishna Consciousness, he finishes his ecstasy of material enjoyment - that is the test."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 July 3: "Please convey my blessings to Jayananda, who is helping so much now in organizing for the Rathayatra Festival. LA temple is now an ideal place for all centers to take example. Now make San Francisco as important."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 July 3: "Politicians pose as the friend of the people, but they are actually not. The real friend is Krishna. Still, if you can make arrangements to meet with Nixon, it will be a great event, so try for it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 July 3: "I have not heard from you concerning our Mayapur program. Is the fence being constructed? What news of Indira Gandhi? Please let me know. I am very anxious to hear from you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 July 3: "There are only a handful of you who are convinced beyond any doubt about this Krsna consciousness movement - but that is sufficient to change the entire course of history."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 July 3: "I am relieved to know your whereabouts again after not hearing from you for some time. You want to see me and I also have some important things to discuss with you, so best thing is we meet at the end of July in Vrindaban."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 July 3: "We have received sanction for constructing the Juhu temple. Until further order whatever money you collect should be sent to Bombay. Print books as far as possible, and whatever money you collect send to Bombay."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1968 July 3: "They have simply a faint idea of God as order-supplier. There is no ecstasy in such simple faith; there cannot be any ecstasy."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 July 3: "We want ecstasy, it does not matter where one feels it, this church or the other. But, one who feels the ecstasy of Krishna Consciousness, he finishes his ecstasy of material enjoyment - that is the test."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 July 3: "Please convey my blessings to Jayananda, who is helping so much now in organizing for the Rathayatra Festival. LA temple is now an ideal place for all centers to take example. Now make San Francisco as important."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 July 3: "Politicians pose as the friend of the people, but they are actually not. The real friend is Krishna. Still, if you can make arrangements to meet with Nixon, it will be a great event, so try for it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 July 3: "I have not heard from you concerning our Mayapur program. Is the fence being constructed? What news of Indira Gandhi? Please let me know. I am very anxious to hear from you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1975 July 3: "We have received sanction for constructing the Juhu temple. Until further order whatever money you collect should be sent to Bombay. Print books as far as possible, and whatever money you collect send to Bombay."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1974 July 3: "I am relieved to know your whereabouts again after not hearing from you for some time. You want to see me and I also have some important things to discuss with you, so best thing is we meet at the end of July in Vrindaban."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1972 July 3: "There are only a handful of you who are convinced beyond any doubt about this Krsna consciousness movement - but that is sufficient to change the entire course of history."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

If you would like to contribute to our year-long "celebration" of Darwin's 200th birthday, please send your articles, editorials, or any other creative and informative pieces to nvclub108@gmail.com

More of the "postdated check" or real progress towards the mystery of life's origins on Earth

Click here to read the article "New Glimpses of Life's Puzzling Origins" from the 6-15-09 edition of the New York Times.

This post will be a continuation of the comments from yesterday's post, "Humans evolved in Asia?" Evolution is such a big topic that I thought for today's post I would just focus on Colin Groves review of Forbidden Archeology.

I read the interesting review of Forbidden Archeology by Colin Groves but was a little dissapointed. I think the author missed the whole point of the book.

He does give the book some credit, calling it "not outright trash like all the Christian creationist works" but he doesn't have an overall high impression of the book. Why not? Because it is written by fundamentalists. People who have a certain view of reality and then distort the evidence to fit their perspective.

He writes, "But this time we get nearly a thousand pages! Gish, Bowden and Lubenow, the Christian creationists, can't raise even half of this between them. The difference is that Cremo and Thompson have read much, much more of the original literature than the other creationists, and their survey is correspondingly more complete. Yet I can't really say that their understanding is much greater, for all that; their tone of argument is as perverse, they are just as biased. "

He accuses Cremo and Thompson of being biased without even considering the possibility of his own biases and the biases that might be acting as blinders on the entire scientific community. The blinders that limit what kinds of questions can even be asked.

That is really the whole point of the book. It is not advocating that there is some secret group of people control what archeological evidence is permitted to see the light of day, it is about what the authors call a knowledge filter. This knowledge filter determines what evidence we are allowed to accept and what must be rejected. It is an attempt to point out that scientists may be biased without having realizing it and in their bias they may have missed some important evidence.

This not something that most scientists are aware of, especially in recent time since the rise of the prevailing scientism worldview. Scientism is as much a metaphysical belief as any other religion. And it is often times just as dogmatic. It accepts certain premises without evidence, like the non-existence of God just for example.

Religious fundamentalists may see the world a certain way according to their belief systems and they may distort reality to fit their beliefs but is there anyone who doesn't do this. I'm not sure if it is just a lack of liberal arts education amongst scientists or if they are just in denial or what but they just don't see that they are just as apt to do this as anyone else.

A classic example is Stephen Jay Gould's theory of Punctuated Equalibrium. Darwin himself wrote,

“The number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed on the earth, must be truly enormous. Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links? Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graduated organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.”

And since Darwin's time this problem was has not been solved. But instead of abandoning the theory, Gould assumes it must be true and comes up with a way to explain away the problem

That looks to me to be a classic example of scientific fundamentalism. A bias based on preconcieved assumptions.

At the very least one would have to admit that Gould's belief in evolution as fact influenced the way he looked at the evidence. If not one would have to show what evidence he found to prove his theory or better yet what experiment he performed to come to his conclusion.

Someone from a different cultural background might look at the fossil record and see something totally different. The fossil record shows different species existing at different times and they might see this as evidence of the different cycles of creation described in the Vedas.

Scientism or Scientific Atheism is just as much a religion as any other . It is based unproven and unprovable metaphysical claims and it has its fundamentalists just as much as any other religion. And they are just as blind to their own biases as anyone else.

Forbidden Archeology is extremely well researched as Groves admits. The authors have compiled almost a thousand pages documeting various cases that seem to casts a shadow of doubt over the prevailing scientific dogma. They are able to do this because they do have very different worldviews from most scientists doing research in this field, and maybe just maybe because of that they have been able to see things that others have not.

If for no other reason the book is interesting from a philosophical perspective, it shows clearly how often times evidence can be arranged to fit whatever we want to see.

At the very least this book is a valuable contribution to the debate.

This is a new on-line facility that should be made available to all children, although based in the UK it can be accessed by children outside of the UK. It is for those children who are experiencing bullying, or are in distress but unable to share there problems or just to scared to talk to an [...]

The materialistic mind covering the living entity's soul carries it to different species of life. This is called continued material existence. Due to the mind, the living entity suffers or enjoys material distress and happiness. Being thus illusioned, the mind further creates pious and impious activities and their karma, and thus the soul becomes conditioned.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 11 Verse 6

Only 3 more days left of releasing new recordings. Today’s recordings are from Abhay Das (New Vrindavan), Ajamil Das (Toronto), Caitanyananda Das (NYC) and Gopika Dasi.

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

• 01 Visvambhar Das - Hare Krishna (1659)
• 02 Jagannath Kirtan Das - Hare Krishna (738)
• 03 Gaura Vani Das - Hare Krishna (885)
• 04 Akincana Krishna Das - Hare Krishna (857)
• 05 Nama Rasa Das - Hare Krishna (578)
• 06 Keshavacarya Das - Hare Krishna (473)
• 07 Gopal Das - Hare Krishna (494)
• 08 Kalindi Dasi - Hare Krishna (662)
• 09 Manu Das - Hare Krishna (391)
• 10 Hari Kirtan Das - Hare Krishna (350)
• 11 Uttam Bhakta Das - Hare Krishna (480)
• 12 Gaura Dasi - Hare Krishna (401)
• 13 Uttam Bhakta Das - Hare Krishna (366)
• 14 Thakur Das - Hare Krishna (341)
• 15 Rupa Das - Hare Krishna (335)
• 16 Krishna Balaram Das - Hare Krishna (331)
• 17 Dhira Lalita Das - Hare Krishna (201)
• 18 Gopi Gita Dasi - Hare Krishna (214)
• 19 Hari Das - Hare Krishna (237)
• 20 Madhava Das - Hare Krishna (545)
• 21 Agnideva Das - Hare Krishna (236)
• 22 HH Radhanath Swami - Hare Krishna (245)
• 23 Acyuta Gopi Dasi - Hare Krishna (272)
• 24 Ananta Govinda Das - Hare Krishna (223)
• 25 Abhay Das - Hare Krishna (103)
• 26 Ajamil Das - Hare Krishna (127)
• 27 Caitanyananda Das - Hare Krishna (124)
• 28 Gopika Dasi - Hare Krishna (113)

"When you’re behind in your quota, you tend to rush, and this is not good. You should be sure that you get your rounds done in the course of the day at the regular pace. Try to go deeply into thoughts of the Divine Couple. Hear each syllable. Don’t let your mind get distracted to other thoughts. I was able to slow down and control my anxiety and chant nicely. I was wide awake and enjoyed the chanting of the holy names. Just don’t worry about your quota; it will be done."

In a lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 2.3.10, Srila Prabhupada said this: "There is no end of their desire, no end." Interestingly, a well-known drama by American playwright Tennessee Williams was called "A Streetcar Named Desire."

In the play, there is an actual streetcar named 'Desire.' The interesting point about this is the symbol of a streetcar that goes round and round, and like a line bent into a circle, never ends. This is one of the themes of this play.

• @hari_sujathan So maybe you should chant all the time instead of offending the Holy Name by criticizing His pure devotee. in reply to hari_sujathan #
• @hari_sujathan Srila Prabhupada says in B.g. As It Is 9.31 that chanting Hare Krsna mahamantra “should be continued without stoppage.” in reply to hari_sujathan #
• Yummy buckwheat muffins and french fries for breakfast. Yep, it’s Ekadasi. #
• Wishes people would stop telling me what (they think) Srila Prabhupada meant. I’m fine with what he SAID. Thank you. #
• Nice article, but eating meat is much worse than driving. Kristof should know that. http://bit.ly/GSzVF #

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Ratha Yatra we Wrocławiu, Festiwal pochodzący z Orissy, z miasta Jaganath Puri w Indiach, najstarsza parada uliczna świata. Co roku milion ludzi bierze udział w tym festiwalu w Indiach, dzięki Mi…

Lecture on Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 4, Text 31 by Bhakti Caksur Sundar Goswami.

Dallas, TX
2009-05-24

TRANSLATION

O best of the Kuru dynasty, without sacrifice one can never live happily on this planet or in this life: what then of the next?

PURPORT

Whatever form of material existence one is in, one is invariably ignorant of his real situation. In other words, existence in the material world is due to the multiple reactions to our sinful lives. Ignorance is the cause of sinful life, and sinful life is the cause of one's dragging on in material existence. The human form of life is the only loophole by which one may get out of this entanglement. The Vedas, therefore, give us a chance for escape by pointing out the paths of religion, economic comfort, regulated sense gratification and, at last, the means to get out of the miserable condition entirely. The path of religion, or the different kinds of sacrifice recommended above, automatically solves our economic problems. By performance of yajna we can have enough food, enough milk, etc. -- even if there is a so-called increase of population. When the body is fully supplied, naturally the next stage is to satisfy the senses. The Vedas prescribe, therefore, sacred marriage for regulated sense gratification. Thereby one is gradually elevated to the platform of release from material bondage, and the highest perfection of liberated life is to associate with the Supreme Lord. Perfection is achieved by performance of yajna (sacrifice), as described above. Now, if a person is not inclined to perform yajna according to the Vedas, how can he expect a happy life even in this body, and what to speak of another body on another planet? There are different grades of material comforts in different heavenly planets, and in all cases there is immense happiness for persons engaged in different kinds of yajna. But the highest kind of happiness that a man can achieve is to be promoted to the spiritual planets by practice of Krishna consciousness. A life of Krishna consciousness is therefore the solution to all the problems of material existence.

Download: 2009-05-24 - Bhakti Caksur Sundar Goswami - Sunday Feast - BG 4.31.mp3

A devotee of the Lord sometimes faces very perplexing situations. But because he has complete faith in Lord Krishna he is never discouraged even in the most devastating of circumstances. Once upon a time in the early days of the universe while Lord Brahma was engaged in the process of creation, the earth was inundated by a deluge and fell down into...

by David Haslam

The other day I was reading an article about the preaching work done by Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Mormons compared to ISKCON devotees' book distribution. They noted that from what they could see, both were more successful in making followers, and questioned how this could be.

One focus is, what is the purpose of book distribution?

read more

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.10.12 - The guru-disciple relationship.

When entering the temple room, the centerpiece of the room and the worship is always the elaborate altar holding the deities. On a carpet to the devotees' left, to Krishna's right, sits a group of six or seven devotees who lead the music. The sides and back of the room are lined with benches and chairs where visitors sit; the majority of the devotees and some of the visitors occupy three or four carpets set up on the marble floors of the temple room—altogether a group averaging fifty or sixty people on any given week.

OM Canada

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada became a nation as we know it in 1867. Today is the birthday and one of our able youth’s, Vrajabhumi who hails from the small town of Norwood arranged for four carloads of us Krishna enthusiasts to make the journey to Ottawa, the nations capital. There as every year devotees from Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto converge to chant to the public in the midst of baskers, break dancers, marching bands and the like.

As soon as we arrived at the war memorial near Pariliament Hill I had a chap who works for the Department of Native Affairs say, “Hey I just saw you on T.V. last night, on Vision TV. “ To my recollection I had been interviewed at a studio in Vancouver last fall and that was what this fellow was reffering to. I recall before the interview I asked what kind of questions they would be asking?

“First of all we were going to bring up the topic about the charge laid against your founder Swami Bhaktivedanta on child abuse,” said the interviewer.

“Excuse me but our leader / founder is a clean as a whistle. I think you have your information a bit confused, “ I retorted.

“oh, well, I guess we’ll skip that one, ‘ said the popular broadcaster. He brought up another topic which escapes me now, but was one of controversy with Krishna Consciousness and some distorted view so I again declared, “That’s misinformation.’

“Okay, so we’ll also leave that one out.”

I had not seen a playback of the interview but in the end the show went well and so the response from the public in Ottawa confirmed this by people telling me so. In fact I felt proud to be in the company of singing and dancing devotees to a very participatory crowd making some kind of affirmation that Krishna Consciousness is not a criminal culture but a tradition of happy and genuine spiritual expression.

By the way the national anthem here is called, “Oh Canada!”. We have our version, “OM Canada!”.

7 KM

Heaps of Garbage
Toronto, Ontario

One of our members put it very bluntly, “The unions are destroying everything.” Referring to the most recent strike for garbage collection. “They are rascals,” said another acquaintance. “In such cash strapped times as these and receiving forty dollars per hour, how dare they.”

When perishable items remain hanging around stanching and taking up space it’s no wonder that tax payers start beefing. Someone else said that unions were formed to protect the worker but the times of oppression are by-gone and the situation has gone in reverse. The public is left at a stranglehold until negotiations unfreeze the strikers demand.

That’s the simple and one sided end of the story. It is a side that I have been sold on. Mind you much can be said about the public’s lack of thriftiness, being non-frugal and so very wasteful. I’m sure that you’ll agree that a monk’s message should always include putting out a good word for Mother Nature and it’s seed-giving Father.

I will give credit to the people of this city and many places with garbage strikes that they try to shove a throw away item into a city bin even though overloaded because strikers refuse to pick up the garbage.
Somehow in this world of discontent, this world of throw- out we have managed to do that with GOD-throw Him out. As I walk Yonge st. I’m saddened to see the pile ups and that the Wind-God doesn’t hold back on the distribution of trashed items.

The whole thing wreaks of greed. It’s stronger than the smell of garbage.

Will someone please light up some incense?

6 KM

This year will see the first ever “Krishna’s Birthday” festival in Brisbane, Australia.

It will be held in the Roma Street Parklands on Sunday August 23 from midday to 6pm.

To get an idea of what it will be like, think Buddha’s Birthday meets the Brisbane Multicultural Festival.

There will be yummy Krishna food, free yoga classes, music, dance, multimedia presentations, a jumping castle for the kids, and much more…

We’ve held two festivals prior to this one, but nothing on this scale. The other two were in 2006 and 2008, and had around 1000 people attending. This year we are expecting 4000 to attend. I’ll be featuring performers and participants, and sponsors of the festival on this blog in the weeks leading up to the festiva, so that you can get an idea of what to expect.

Concentric Inspiration

Toronto, ON

Our photographer friend Haidee gave a generous offer of a choice at her top of the line photos. After perusing through the dozens of massive pictures projected on canvas and peering at portraits and people in action at both rural and urban India, I chose my pick. One piece called "Concentric" stole my heart. It depicts a turban wearing farmer watching over his oxen harnessed and anchored by a device and moving in centrifugal motion. The picture reminds me of what we, as a society of eco-friendliness should be going toward. It also reminds me of a verse from the book Bhagavatam wherein it states that our lives can evolve when we place ourselves at the post of dharma always moving around that sense of duty and obligation and never to swerve away from it.

Of course I had that picture, frame and all, in mind to adorn a wall in the temple. But I confessed to Haidee that we need a mate to "Concentric".

"Sure, which other one would you like?": she expressed with her continuous kind heart.

"Well, it's the one with the woman in a green saree seated at her stock of produce up for selling at the market. Haidee graciously reciprocated with us for the use of our space by granting the second photo.

This one also reminds me of what we all should be supporting - the growing of local food. How removed we are from living the truly natural life! Food get shipped in unripe from all parts of the world except your own place. It raises questions about the loss of the art of growing employment, good clean living, being practical and doing God's will.

I can't wait to get those photos on the wall to give our community members something serious to think about.

6 KM

1968 July 2: "By denying my application injustice has been done to me. Please try to convince him that my presence is essential. I am qualified Religious Minister. I have got sufficient money to maintain myself."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 July 2: "By denying my application injustice has been done to me. Please try to convince him that my presence is essential. I am qualified Religious Minister. I have got sufficient money to maintain myself."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 July 2: "I am pleased that this boy has become attracted. Please take nice care of him. When someone is sent by Krishna to help us it is our duty to help them understand Krishna Consciousness as far as possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 2: "In our Krishna Book we are showing the Western World for the first time what is God. So painting is no unimportant task. I have so many ideas for paintings. Try to help us out in this way as far as possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 2: "This is the sure and certain method. If we simply chant Hare Krishna with karatalas and mrdanga and if we speak from Bhagavad-gita As It Is then automatically the people become attracted."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

This weekend is our annual Gundica Cleanup, which will be held on Sunday, July 5th. As many of you know, we will be celebrating the 37th Annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) on July 18-19, 2009. Every year, we traditionally clean the temple two weeks in advance of this huge festival!

This is following the example set by Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who held the first Gundica Cleanup some 500 years ago. The famous Ratha-Yatra parade in Jagannatha Puri begins at the Jagannatha Puri temple and proceeds all the way till the Gundica Temple. Preparing for the arrival of Lord Jagannatha, Caitanya Mahaprabhu with His associates personally cleaned the entire temple.

This year we will be cleaning our temple on the auspicious occasion of Snana-Yatra. The clean-up will start at 10:00am in the temple room and will continue till 4:00pm. Lunch (prasadam) will be provided for those who come out to help clean! For further information, please contact Gopal at psenatoronto@gmail.com.

Sarvabhauma Dasa is one of the many characters you find at the Manor, he always says Hi and asks how you are keeping, I didn’t know that he had such a wonderful voice or sung such sweet songs, so for those who love a musical treat here is two links: Sarvabhauma On The Hare Krishna Bench [...]

1969 July 2: "I have so many ideas for paintings. In our Krishna Book we are showing the Western World for the first time what is God. So painting is no unimportant task, and try to help us out in this as far as possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 2: "I am pleased that one boy has become attracted. Please take nice care of him. When a man is sent by Krishna to help us it is our duty to help him understand Krishna Consciousness as far as possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 July 2: "This is the sure and certain method. If we simply chant Hare Krishna with karatalas and mrdanga and if we speak from Bhagavad-gita As It Is then automatically the people become attracted."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

The other day I wrote about the need to follow by example. This is always easier said than done, to turn the magnifying glass on ourselves rather than pointing it to others is never easy. I have also been pondering these words: The word khala means “jealous.” This material world is a world of jealousy and envy. [...]

Efi from Israel writes:

Please tell me which foodstuff is not warming in the hot summer. I'm living in Israel and it's very warm now. Hope it's not disturbance to you. Efi.

My reply:

Dear Efi,

Not a disturbance at all. Your Ayurvedic body type will have some bearing on what is most appropriate to cool you down, but here's a few things:

Bamboo shoot, banana, barley water, bitter gourd, cumin seeds, grapefruit, lettuce, mung beans, persimmon, salt, seaweed, star fruit, sugar cane, water chestnut, watermelon, lotus root, cucumber, barley, bean curd, marjoram, pear, peppermint, radish, strawberry, tangerine, yogurt, broccoli, cauliflower, zuccini, corn, tomatoes, pineapple, turmeric.

Trust this helps, Kurma.

FOOD, FAITH AND FARMING

The Emerging Alliance of Religion and Ecology

Sunday, July 12th 11:00 a.m. to 2: 00 pm

Organic teaching garden directly across the street from Palace Lodge
New Vrindaban Community, Moundsville

What role does religion and spirituality play in shaping a socially just and sustainable food system? Join us for a fast moving workshop which examines the link between ethics and natural living.

Our panel includes experts in the fields of academia, organic agriculture, animal husbandry, children’s education and community development.

Key Speakers:

Whitney Sanford: Assistant Professor, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Religion at the University of Florida.

Navina Shyam Dasa: Assistant Director of Hare Krishna Montessori School in Alachua, Florida. (MA in urban development).

William Dove: Founder of International Society for Cow Protection, Moundsville , WV.

Mark Meberg: Organic farmer/gardener, Middle Mountain Acres, Moundsville, WV.

Danny Swan: Director of the East Wheeling Community Gardens project, Wheeling, WV.

FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC

Entertainment provided, refreshments served!

For more information, please contact Terry Sheldon

The Small Farm Training Center info@farmeducation.org

(304) 243-5990

Life has been extraordinarily busy…2 jobs, college, yoga,temple seva, e-seva,sadhana,maintenance, etc, etc. Many ideas have come & gone for writing here mostly as I haven’t been able to sit down & write when I actually had the inspiration to do so. As I write this I have approximately a half hour before I need to [...]

I am practically better now and eager to write up lots of things. I’m kind of over writing things that happened more than a few days ago but I just found this poem which I’ve shortened as I do go on a bit. It’s just some observations from when I was put in the isolation ward in hospital.

Gentle nurse Ian
who loves what he does
wheels me out of yellow ward
past the hustle and bustle
of purple and green
into the narrow lift
and up into
old unrefurbished
Letchmore on 5th

the door closes
and we are behind
the Iron Curtain
deceptively O.K. at first
sister is friendly
lets me use the phone
as they do in yellow downstairs

health care worker
is incredibly rude
really insulting
about how she thinks
I got my sores
“if you are spiritual”
how sensitive can you get!

I see a sign on the wall
all the rules for honouring
patients’ dignity
that’s a laugh for a start

Ian tells them I have
cauliflower cheese on order
for my dinner
I’m now more optimistic
I might get something
to eat after two days
nothing happens
I decide not to ask much
from night sister
who has already laid down the law
I can’t use the phone
as I’m in isolation
can’t cross the corridor
to get hot drinking water

O.K. I get the message
I slide into accommodating mode
and am the essence of cheer
and co-operation
I get one flicker of personalism
when African night sister sees
my brightly coloured sarong
“Oh, it looks like my country”
then the curtain closes again

brusque, mildly chastising,
rarely smiling except
with nurse buddies
comments such as
“just relax” in curt tones
that tense me up

“I know what I’m doing!”
as she really tenses me up
with the penicillin shots
Health service……
in “yellow” I felt
their service mood,
here control rules
they are in charge
and watch out
if you go over the line

no clock, no food
I peep round the corner
down the corridor I see
night sister and nurse buddy chatting
having a bit of a laugh
they look around and see me
I try to be polite, hoping
they will feel I am
“honouring their dignity”
as the sign says
maybe some connection will occur

I ask, “what time do they bring the meal?”
It’s half past nine now
too late to ask for food
O.K. I let go of cauli cheese bhoga

to her credit she offers me a meat sandwich
I unfortunately can’t co-operate
(being a vegetarian)
again she offers
to get hot water
for my emergency instant mash

It’s one big emergency behind the Iron Curtain,

the registrar visits with two other curious doctors
everyone wants to see my mystery scabs and lesions
they are normal, friendly and uncondescending
it’s like heaven connecting with good professionals
who know how to treat you like a person
obviously imbibing the “dignity” rule
bit of fresh air really
they are gentle, polite, even a bit chummy
as the Indian registrar is leaving
he sees my pictures of Krishna and Prabhupada
he sneaks in a quick “Hare Krishna’
when no-one is listening

comfort relieves mild panic
as my mind had begun to revert to
wild imaginings –scenarios like
“One flew over the cuckoo’s nest!”

next day the docs will be here again
again I have to face
“God in a suit”
as I have called Dr X
whose icy politeness
could freeze the heart and hope of anyone,
perfect in a suit and impeccably clever
she commands obedience and obsequiousness
from her juniors
she’s up the ladder alright
and the hierarchical structure
looms large in her aura

the “nice yellow” consultant
whose name I keep forgetting
is direct, no-nonsense, respected
by other doctors but downright ‘good’
her warmth (which is not frilly)
enhances her professionalism
I get the feeling that aloofness
and icy superiority
are but a coat of fear
or perhaps even terror
at the possibility
of not being in control

seen it all before
in government
in religious organizations
everywhere you see it
impersonalism and voidism
all stemming from the fundamental desire
to control, enjoy and defend

no wonder someone is trying to enforce
rules to honour human dignity
easily lost in paradigms
where toxic mixes lurk
power, control, personal ambition, fear
plus a few chips on the shoulder
hey, how about a bit of
personal development here?!
“What’s that? Oh yes,
they don’t do it
behind the Iron Curtain”

what will today bring?
curt night sister might not be pleased
if she should sense that I am tense
but it’s day again!
maybe day sister will be O.K.
maybe I can call out
speak to a devotee on the phone
still the meeting with icy X
looms near and chills me
I nervously wonder
is “icy” higher on the ladder
than fabulous yellow
or even jokey tropical disease doc
can they force me to have a biopsy?

I muse over the immense courage
of devotees behind the Iron Curtain
in Russia, in Armenia who somehow survived
the atrocities of the prisons, psych wards
and labour camps, all for devotional service

Service is the Essence of Personalism

you can perceive its auspiciousness
in the little acts of kindness people perform
by their innate propensity to connect with others
their ability to put their own egotistic agenda aside
sufficient humility to let go of asserting what they know
in order to find out more by being open

knowledge is coming from the Supersoul
within the heart of every living being
those in the mode of goodness
less arrogant with good qualities
more likely to hear and assimilate
than those who hide behind their proud reserve

it’s an amazing experience observing
the modes of nature, how they cover
one’s consciousness, how Maya
propagates impersonalism
in every sphere of life
she leaves not a stone unturned

and myself, I have fear of isolation
isolation from devotees is scarey
isolation even from mode of goodness
and kind people is scarey
the one good thing about Isolation Row
is that I have my own room
and can put Prabhupada’s japa tape
on the computer – Hare Krishna!
Time to chant some more,
come what may!

A very nice topic of this booklet is "observation" - saying that we need to observe our chanting and check what our habits are, if we are concentrated, if we are doing other things at the same time while chanting - if we chant without interuption, this is regarding quality. He also talks about quantity and how we can increase our japa weekly, for the ones who want to achieve 16 rounds and still chanting less. Then he gives some forms and you are supposed to fill in and check your japa daily- by the end of the week you take 30 minutes and evaluate your whole week of chanting and see what you need to work on for the next week. He said that if we do that for a month, our minds will be trained and will be more peaceful while we chant.
I liked very much his guidelines and I think we can follow that as an example for our daily japa. Our aim is love of God....offenseless chanting and one day achieve pure love of God through chanting but to achieve this stage, we must focus on the sound vibration of the mantra because the Lord is there in the sound. When we understand that Krsna and His holy names are the same, we perceive that maybe we could give more attention to our japa time and make this time our personal moment with Krsna. The mood of prayer is also mentioned and the reasons why is so important....to have this child calling mood towards Krsna when we chant His holy names. Eagerness to achieve our spiritual goals is the key to success and when we give more attention to that, put efforts on this subject of improving the Lord Himself, gives you everything you need to get there. We just need to trust the Lord is with us all the time, living in our hearts and helping us to understand how we can develop a deeper relationship with Him through chanting....the main thing is to give a head start.

May our hearts be opened to new ways of learning how to improve our chanting so we can achieve pure love of God.

your servant,

Aruna devi

Dear devotees,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I last wrote from the festival in the Altai Mountains in Siberia. That was about 2 weeks ago, and  unfortunately I’ve had a cold since then, and even now it’s trying to hang on, although it’s 90% finished. I’m resting my voice today and most of tomorrow and hopefully it will stabilize more in the meantime.

From Altai I went to Moscow for a night, where I stayed in the beautiful flat of Denis and Svetlana, aspiring disciples of BB Govinda Maharaja, and then on the morning of June 22nd I flew with Bhakta Igor from St Petersburg to Syktyvkar, a place I had never heard of before. We stayed there till the 24th, when I had to fly to Arkangelsk via Moscow.

Syktyvkar is a relatively new yatra, being developed under the supervision of Vanamali Kaviraja prabhu the Regional Secretary for most of North West Russia. He’s an older person, and although still a householder he’s
traveling around the region all the time, encouraging the devotees. We did evening programmes in a hall, which were attended by 30 or so devotees and others, and one day we did a harinama.

Of course I had to lead the harinama, at least at the beginning, and that was quite a strain considering my health. There was no sound system so somehow I had to shout over the top of the instruments, which made it worse. In between mantras I would cough to clear my voice a bit, and somehow I managed to carry on for about 30 minutes.

In Russia generally the devotees have to get permission to do harinama, and this day we only had permission to stay in a particular spot near the centre of town, and not to move around the town. Because of being new the devotees were not so expert when it came to dancing and generally developing the kirtana, and I wasn’t feeling up to running around too much, so we basically stood in the same spot and sang, although the ladies, as Russian ladies often do, got into some simple dancing.

There is no temple in Syktyvkar, and all the devotees are living at home, so I appreciated very much that practically the whole yatra came out and chanted in the streets with us.

One thing I noticed about Syktyvkar was the mosquitoes! When we left on the 24th morning they had taken over the airport, and it was practically impossible to avoid being bitten several times. Actually the most powerful mosquitoes in Russia, and maybe the world, are the Siberian mosquitoes, who are relentless in their pursuit of blood, but their Syktyvkar brothers did very well for themselves that morning. It was something like a Food for Life programme for them!

Vanamali Kaviraja prabhu and I then flew to Moscow, and he went on to the Russian National Council meeting in Sochi, and I flew back to Arkanglesk. Arkangelsk is a very nice yatra, which has been going for many years. There used to be a temple there, which had many brahmacaris and barhmacarinis, but then some of them married and others moved elsewhere, and the temple closed. Now they regularly hold their programmes in the house of one of my disciples, Lalita Madhava devi dasi, and this was where we met.

Nearby is the town of Severodvinsk, which is a closed city where they make submarines. You need permission to get in there, and the devotees have not been able to get it for me yet, so again I wasn’t able to go in. but the devotees from there came and joined us for our programmes at Lalita Madhava’s.

One day I went for a walk on the river front with Aravindaksha prabhu the Arkangelsk yatra leader and husband of my disciple and Arkangelsk translator, Jaya Radhika devi dasi. As we walked along the river bank we saw a couple of Indian boys drinking beer with some Russian boys. Aravindaksha called out “Hare Krishna!” to them and they responded, although they seemed a little embarrassed to be seen by us, drinking liquor. But Aravindaksha prabhu told me that he lives nearby, and Indian boys like this, who are
studying at the medical school in Arkangelsk, often come to the shop near his flat and buy meat and liquor. As soon as they leave India behind they start losing their culture.

I then flew to St Petersburg, where the devotees have a Saturday programme instead of a Sunday programme. On Sunday they do harinama. I arrived on Saturday and we went to the programme, and found at least 300 or so devotees there, chanting and dancing very enthusiastically.

St Petersburg used to have the biggest temple in Russia, which was being rented at the time Harikesa das left ISKCON. When he left his followers kept the temple, and since then, more than 10 years ago, we haven’t had a temple here, but have had to rent halls for all our programmes. However the devotees have now got some land and will hopefully start construction soon.

I had to meet devotees on Sunday, so I didn’t go on the harinama, and in one sense that was good, as I need to rest, particularly my voice. Then on Monday afternoon we had another programme in the same hall we used on Saturday. I was skeptical whether the devotees would come, but to my surprise, when we started at 3pm, there was almost the same number of devotees there as on Saturday, despite it being a working day.

That evening, the 29th of June, I flew on my own to Murmansk. The plane took off at about 9pm and as we approached Murmansk I noticed some spots of snow on some of the hills nearby. Even though it is officially midsummer, still this part of the world is cold.

Murmansk is in the Arctic Circle, and as far as I know it’s the northern most temple in ISKCON worldwide. We finally arrived at the temple around midnight, after being met at the airport by a large group of devotees
(accompanied by a very enthusiastic team of mosquitoes), and when I went to the bathroom at 12.15 I saw that the sun was still up in the sky, shining directly on some of the buildings in the city. Living in the far north is quite an amazing experience.

Again we went on harinama in Murmansk. There were about 15 or so of us, with accordion, and it all went very well, although the weather was a bit too cold for me, and my cold returned again. I assumed we had permission as usual, but as we stood in a particular place with a crowd gathered around us we noticed a police car stop right next to us.

The Temple President, Paramananda prabhu, immediately told us to move on, and as we walked down the street the police car followed us, stopping occasionally next to us and staring at us. When we finished I asked Paramananda if we had had permission, but he said no. In the past they would get permission, but the authorities would only let them go to quiet parts of the city, and they wanted to go into the centre, so they decided not to bother with permission and just take a chance with the police.

That was ok for them, but for me as a foreigner it’s very dangerous to get caught doing something that’s against the law. The Russian authorities are very touchy about such things, and will arrest foreigners easily if they do something they shouldn’t.

In both Syktyvkar and Arkangelsk news people came to interview. In Syktyvkar they did a very favourable half page article about my visit, and in Murmansk two television stations and a newspaper came. I saw on the temple noticeboard a clipping of an article done the previous year by a reporter who was a big George Harrison fan. When he heard that I had met George and spoken with him, the reporter couldn’t believe it, and thought I was some sort of big celebrity, and then wrote the article, which was very favourable indeed, and also half a page of the newspaper.

In Murmansk the devotees own the temple, having bought it from the profits from their transcendental cake business. They have cakes named Vrindavana, Mayapur, Radhe Syama, and many other names. We’ve included some photos of them, so please have a look. Some of them are quite amazing.

This morning I had to get up at 2am to take a cheap flight to Moscow, where I am now, waiting to fly to South Africa for the Phoenix Rathayatra this weekend. I will write further from there.

Hoping this meets you well.

Your servant,

Bhakti Caitanya Swami

I am so grateful to be part of such a progressive and innovative team of individuals who are trying to share the beauty of bhakti-yoga. Below is this year's commercial which will be seen by millions in Toronto, inviting them to take part in this event.

‘Akalpa refers to the texture of Krsna’s hair, His nicely dressed body anointed with sandalwood pulp and decorated with flower garlands, His tilaka and His chewing pan. Krsna was decorated constantly in this akalpa process. Krsna’s hair was sometimes decorated with flowers placed on the middle of His head, or else it was reaching down to His back. In this way Krsna dressed His hair differently at different times.

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Srila Prabhupada has said that his movement has created a taste for devotional service, even in DEMONS. "But our propaganda is, by some way or other, even they are sudras, even they're demons, we are creating the taste."

(Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.16 in SF on 19 Aug, 1972). A scriptural proof of this is that Arjuna engaged the demon Maya Danava in constructing a beautiful assembly house in Dwarka and the gift of a great club to Bhima:

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• When I stand in front of Srila Prabhupada’s murti, I feel like he can see me, body, mind, & soul. I presume he sees me other times as well. #

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Ratha Yatra Wrocław 13 06 2009 cz 4. Ratha Yatra we Wrocławiu, Festiwal pochodzący z Orissy, z miasta Jaganath Puri w Indiach, najstarsza parada uliczna świata. Co roku milion ludzi bierze udział w tym festiwalu w Indiach, dzięki Mi…

Dance performed by Surata and Gopi Krishna.  Hari das is singing the bhajan Yasomati Nandana.  Performed at Diana's Yoga Studio.

Dallas, TX
2009-05-02

We took our final darshan of Krishna Kaliya at our ISKCON temple in Lautoka, Fiji on 30 June. It was a very heart touching moment for me. After putting some money into the donation box I humbly bowed down at Krishna Kaliya's feet thanking Him for the so many wonderful Krishna conscious experiences I have had preaching in Fiji over the years since 1985....

Fossil Suggests Human, Ape Ancestor Hails From Asia
June 30, 2009 -- A new Myanmar fossil primate, Ganlea megacanina, suggests the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from large-toothed primates in Asia and not Africa, according to new research published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

If Myanmar, formerly called Burma, is confirmed as being the ancestral homeland of higher primates, or close to it, the discovery points to a circuitous migration route for some early primates, which must have gone to Africa and then come back to Asia. . . . Beard still believes modern humans descended from an African population that lived around 200,000 years ago. "But," he said, "some extinct species of humans, such as the 'hobbit' Homo floresiensis, almost certainly evolved in Asia." (Read the article thing here.)

This is interesting on a couple of levels, the first is that it shows the idea of evolution as a scientific theory is almost a joke. The whole thing can be turned on its head. At the very least it still evolving. The admittance that Homo floresiensis "almost certainly evolved in Asia" has huge implications. One of the big holes in the Vedic narative was India being the center of everything, when genetic evidence seemed to indicate that people migrated out of Africa. But it looks like the same evidence could also be used to show that people migrated to Africa from Asia. This is important for anyone who accepts the Vedic paradigm, whether we except the Vedas literally or whether we accept some type of guided theistic evolution.

by Bhaktin Rita

Recently, the devotees organized a large kirtan in a public park in Pittsburgh. Almost right at the beginning of the festival, I saw a young lady, Elizabeth, standing in one corner of the tent. She was listening and watching, and seemed to be enjoying the festival. She was very pretty, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, and was carrying a business portfolio and backpack. From her appearance, she looked like a passer-by, and not like a devotee. So, I approached her and began speaking to her. As soon as I began speaking with her, however, I thought I had made a mistake. She seemed to belong there. I thought that she must be a second-generation devotee, so I apologized immediately. I said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize you are with this group.”

Elizabeth told me, “No, I’m not with this group. I was walking through the park and saw this happening.”

I asked Elizabeth whether she would like to join the ladies who were dancing in a circle on the other side of the tent. I expected her to say no, and for the interaction to end but she surprised me by saying OK. She put down her portfolio and backpack, and we joined the circle and started dancing.

A few minutes later, I saw two young ladies standing just inside the tent, and I invited them to join us. They immediately put their bags down and joined the circle. And a few minutes after that, I saw another young lady standing close by, and she joined us as well. For the next twenty or thirty minutes, I was simultaneously dancing in the circle, scanning the crowd for more ladies who might be interested in joining the circle, and scanning the ladies who had already joined us. I kept looking at Elizabeth. She never stopped dancing, and she never looked tired.

During the dancing, one of the ladies I had invited left the festival. She gave me a hug and thanked me for drawing her in. I asked whether she wanted to be put in touch with the group who organized the festival. She said yes, and wrote down her contact information. As she handed me the slip of paper, she said, “I used to chant ‘Hare Krishna.’” I told her, “Welcome back.” She hugged me again. I was very happy for her.

After the dancing ended, Radhanath Maharaja prepared to speak. All of my guests left except Elizabeth. She did not talk to anyone or look around to see what anyone was doing – she simply stood there. To me, it looked like she was unaware of what was happening around her.
I approached her cautiously and asked whether she would like to sit in a chair and listen to the lecture. She said yes, and again followed me.

After the class, Radhanath Maharaja invited everyone to dance and chant with him. He taught everyone the proper way to dance in kirtan. First, he demonstrated the “swami step.” Next, he explained that when the leader is chanting, everyone should stand with their hands folded, in a prayerful mood. Finally, when the group chants together, everyone should raise their hands in the air.

When the kirtan started, I could see that Elizabeth was following what I was doing. When I raised my arms up, she raised her arms. And when I lowered my arms, she lowered hers. But very soon after, she closed her eyes and moved her arms by following the kirtan. And she chanted the entire time.

Prabhupada explains in Nectar of Devotion that “it is found that a person actually attached to material enjoyment or salvation has the good fortune to associate with pure devotees while they are engaged in chanting the holy name of the Lord. By the good grace of the Lord one may also cooperate and join in the chanting. At that time, simply by the association of such pure devotees, the moonlike rays from their hearts reflect on him, and by the influence of the pure devotees he may show some likeness of attachment caused by inquisitiveness, but this is very flickering. And if by the manifestation of such shadow attachment one feels the disappearance of all material pangs, then it is called parä attachment.”

After kirtan ended, I asked Elizabeth whether she wanted to meet Radhanath Maharaja. She said yes, so I immediately took her behind the stage. I knew if I waited, Maharaja would be swamped by devotees, and Elizabeth would miss her opportunity.

I introduced Elizabeth to Maharaja and said, “Elizabeth had a wonderful time here.” Maharaja said a few words to her.

Then Elizabeth said, “I had a wonderful time. I’ve never heard of this before. I wish everyone could have been here. Thank you.”

Maharaja said a few more words, and Elizabeth thanked him again, “This was really wonderful. Thank you for organizing this.”

Maharaja looked at me to see whether I wanted to say anything. I turned to leave, but Elizabeth stood in her place. After a few seconds, she said again, “Thank you for doing this. I wish everyone could experience it.”

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.10.11 - Understanding the spirit soul.

7:23 A.M.

When Prabhupada first came to India, he tended to build temples and recruit Indian youths. At first, he complained that the young Indians were not interested in Krishna consciousness. But he eventually achieved grand success, both in building temples and in recruiting. In 1972, he was only pioneering, touring with his American disciples.

Yesterday, I heard a lecture he gave on Octobet 28, 1972, in Vrndavan, India. He began by saying that Krishna consciousness is not difficult, but it is the only way one can be happy. To be peaceful and happy, you have to recognize Krishna. But the material world is made in such a way that you can’t be happy. We have come to serve our senses, not Krishna’s. Due to illusion, we can’t understand. The hog feels happy, and he gets fat. But what is his happiness? Living in a filthy place and eating stool. Krishna is so kind, He’ll give you any kind of body you want—a body like a dog, a demigod’s body, or a body like His.

The safest way is to hear about Krishna. This is pious activity. We have dirty things in the heart, and they have to be cleansed. Krishna is trying to help us, but we refuse. Elicit sex is hard to give up, but if one is attracted to Krishna, Krishna will save him. If we want to remove the dirty things from the heart, we must scrutinizingly hear about Krishna. There are four pillars of sinful life, and they are dismantled by hearing. I can’t get out of the material world by my own endeavor, but Krishna helps. When the intelligence is purified by hearing about Krishna, you are elevated to the spiritual platform.

8:00 A.M.

1

Chanting is better than remembering.

Chanting captures the mind

and enables others to hear.

Just because controlling the mind is

so hard doesn’t make it better than

chanting. So say the messengers of

Vaikuntha against the opinion of

the sages of Tapoloka.

I love hearing the music of kirtana

and chanting. It is easy and

sublime. It is superior.

It wails and sails and brings

enjoyment on the sensual level.

Pretty tunes, and even horns

take part. The singers give it

wholehearted cry.

So take to kirtana and hearing and

don’t bother with the effort

to remember.

You reach Krishna soon in kirtana.

2

A man sings for his lover.

It’s a reflection of the love in the

spiritual world.

It’s moving, but only a shadow.

It contains grief at loss, and

anger, and cruelty. Krishna’s

love for Radha is a ballad with

no taints.

He sings, and She sings back

in pure bliss. Even when Krishna

is away, Radha’s songs are pure

lament, with an ecstasy at the core.

So we should not be deceived by

romantic ballads of this world.

Use them as a reminder

of the true love that goes

on in Vraja.

from #119→

1966 July 1:
"Chaturdasi. Today I entered the new house at 26 Second Avenue. For my purpose it is all good. I do not why Krishna is trying to establish me in New York. I am his servant's servant and therefore let His desire be fulfilled through my agency. In the evening there was meeting in the New Store. There was about eight men."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 July 1: "I am glad to know that one rich Indian is prepared to contribute. But my mission will be more successful if the Americans construct a temple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 July 1: "I do not know what Kirtanananda has told you. If there is scarcity of qualified pujaris, each center should be satisfied only by worshipping Panca Tattva by performance of Sankirtana."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 July 1: "We do not have to be dependent on taking help from persons who will not even eat with us, thinking us inferior. We are not dependent on any Indian goswami. Let them come as invited but we shall conduct the affair ourselves."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 July 1: "All big officers should be invited. Goswamis and godbrothers also. All the inhabitants of Vrindaban will be invited. There is no question of money. Let it be a first class, A-1 arrangement"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1972 July 1: "I am so much pleased that you have taken Sannyas and are preaching whole-heartedly. Do not worry about your wife and child, Krishna will take care of them. Just you save the foolish world from going to hell."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1966 July 1:
"Chaturdasi. Today I entered the new house at 26 Second Avenue. For my purpose it is all good. I do not why Krishna is trying to establish me in New York. I am his servant's servant and therefore let His desire be fulfilled through my agency. In the evening there was meeting in the New Store. There was about eight men."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 July 1: "I am glad to know that one rich Indian is prepared to contribute. But my mission will be more successful if the Americans construct a temple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 July 1: "I do not know what Kirtanananda has told you. If there is scarcity of qualified pujaris, each center should be satisfied only by worshipping Panca Tattva by performance of Sankirtana."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 July 1: "I'm very sorry that you are separated from the temple. But don't worry. Krishna will save you, you can be sure. There is no doubt about it. So go on chanting Hare Krishna at all costs and never mind these tribulations of maya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

Cabbages 'cut lung cancer risks'

"Eating vegetables from the cabbage family can reduce the risk of lung cancer for people with a certain genetic make-up, scientists say. Vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli and sprouts are rich in chemicals called isothiocyanates, which strongly protect against lung cancer." more...

1975 July 1: "Actually we are not fond of having businesses. Regard your main business as trying to become Krsna conscious through reading my books and associating with the devotees in the Sankirtana movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 July 1: "Actually we are not fond of having businesses. Regard your main business as trying to become Krsna conscious through reading my books and associating with the devotees in the Sankirtana movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1972 July 1: "I am so much pleased that you have taken Sannyas and are preaching whole-heartedly. Do not worry about your wife and child, Krishna will take care of them. J
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972ust you save the foolish world from going to hell."

1971 July 1: "I'm very sorry that you are separated from the temple. But don't worry. Krishna will save you, you can be sure. There is no doubt about it. So go on chanting Hare Krishna at all costs and never mind these tribulations of maya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1974 July 1: "We do not have to be dependent on taking help from persons who will not even eat with us, thinking us inferior. we are not dependent on any Indian goswami. Let them come as invited but we shall conduct the affair ourselves."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 July 1: "All big officers should be invited. Goswamis and godbrothers also. All the inhabitants of Vrindaban will be invited. There is no question of money. Let it be a first class, A-1 arrangement"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

The other day I was reading an article which was talking about the preaching work done be the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormon’s in relation to devotees book distribution. They noted that from what they could see that both were more successful in making followers, and questioned why this could be? One is focus, what is the [...]

In the beginning, according to Indian philosophers, was sound. Sound is, according to writings dating back thousands of years, the original primordial, creative force. According to Lewis Rowell, "musical sound[s]…are identified with the creative vital force by which the entire universe is animated."

"Conversing before your japa uses up energy and is a distraction and shouldn’t be indulged in. Get right down to business as soon as you get up. Call to Krishna for help, and He will help you stay awake. Keeping up a good speed is also helpful. Gradually, you gain your wakefulness and take advantage of it. Harinama deserves your best effort."

From Bhajan Kutir #116

Thought is progressive. The author's thought must have progress in the reader in the shape of correction or development. He is the best critic, who can show the further development of an old thought; but a mere denouncer is the enemy of progress and consequently of Nature. "Begin anew," says the critic, "because the old masonry does not answer at present. Let the old author be buried because his time is gone." These are shallow expressions. Progress certainly is the law of nature and there must be corrections and developments with the progress of time. But progress means going further or rising higher.

Now, if we are to follow our foolish critic, we are to go back to our former terminus and make a new race, and when we have run half the race another critic of his stamp will cry out: "Begin anew, because the wrong road has been taken!" In this way our stupid critics will never allow us to go over the whole road and see what is in the other terminus. Thus the shallow critic and the fruitless reader are the two greatest enemies of progress. We must shun them.

The true critic, on the other hand, advises us to preserve what we have already obtained, and to adjust our race from that point where we have arrived in the heat of our progress. He will never advise us to go back to the point whence we started, as he fully knows that in that case there will be a fruitless loss of our valuable time and labor. He will direct the adjustment of the angle of the race at the point where we are. This is also the characteristic of the useful student. He will read an old author and will find out his exact position in the progress of thought. He will never propose to burn the book on the ground that it contains thoughts which are useless.

No thought is useless. Thoughts are means by which we attain our objects. The reader who denounces a bad thought does not know that a bad road is even capable of improvement and conversion into a good one. One thought is a road leading to another. Thus the reader will find that one thought which is the object today will be the means of a further object tomorrow. Thoughts will necessarily continue to be an endless series of means and objects in the, progress of humanity.

- Bhaktivinoda Thakur, The Bhagavata (here)

-Biography (here)

We had an invitation to perform and chant at the two day Prabhupada Festival, which happens at the Los Angeles Krishna temple on Venice Boulevard (New Dwaraka). It was an opportunity to honor the spiritual teacher, or guru, of the Hare Krishna Movement, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who founded the movement in the 60s. He also my mother’s teacher, so we were especially excited to come and honor him.

It turned out that my cousin, who lives in Los Angeles, was getting married at the same time as the festival, and I thought that I would be able to juggle going to both events. In the end, the rest of our group performed without me while I went my cousin’s wedding, which was a beautiful ceremony in downtown Los Angeles. Despite how beautiful it was, I was a bit distracted thinking about the band having a party without me.  At ten o’clock, when it was over, I came rushing back in my suit and tie and jumped on stage to chant with the rest of the group, who had been chanting since seven o’clock in the evening. Unfortunately, in my exuburance to join in, I hit the microphone stand that had the recorder hanging on it and it fell and caused the recordings to be corrupted. So all you’re left with, unfortunately, are the recordings from after I got there. Sorry AKS!

But it was beautiful night, culminated in a couple of kids going wild and jumping into the pool in front of the stage, which was full of floating lillies. Some of these guys just went nuts in their ecstatic kirtan bliss and dove into the pool, sending water in all directions.

Gaura Vani

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

• 01 Ananta Govinda - Jaya Sacinandana (74)
• 02 Gaura Vani - Hare Krishna (129)
• 03 Gaura Vani - Nrsimhadeva Prayers (111)

Today’s new kirtans are by Agnideva Das (Portland, OR), HH Radhanath Swami (Mumbai, India) Acyuta Gopi (NYC) and Ananta Govinda (NYC).

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

• 01 Visvambhar Das - Hare Krishna (1659)
• 02 Jagannath Kirtan Das - Hare Krishna (738)
• 03 Gaura Vani Das - Hare Krishna (885)
• 04 Akincana Krishna Das - Hare Krishna (857)
• 05 Nama Rasa Das - Hare Krishna (578)
• 06 Keshavacarya Das - Hare Krishna (473)
• 07 Gopal Das - Hare Krishna (494)
• 08 Kalindi Dasi - Hare Krishna (662)
• 09 Manu Das - Hare Krishna (391)
• 10 Hari Kirtan Das - Hare Krishna (350)
• 11 Uttam Bhakta Das - Hare Krishna (480)
• 12 Gaura Dasi - Hare Krishna (401)
• 13 Uttam Bhakta Das - Hare Krishna (366)
• 14 Thakur Das - Hare Krishna (341)
• 15 Rupa Das - Hare Krishna (335)
• 16 Krishna Balaram Das - Hare Krishna (331)
• 17 Dhira Lalita Das - Hare Krishna (201)
• 18 Gopi Gita Dasi - Hare Krishna (214)
• 19 Hari Das - Hare Krishna (237)
• 20 Madhava Das - Hare Krishna (545)
• 21 Agnideva Das - Hare Krishna (236)
• 22 HH Radhanath Swami - Hare Krishna (245)
• 23 Acyuta Gopi Dasi - Hare Krishna (272)
• 24 Ananta Govinda Das - Hare Krishna (223)
• 25 Abhay Das - Hare Krishna (103)
• 26 Ajamil Das - Hare Krishna (127)
• 27 Caitanyananda Das - Hare Krishna (124)
• 28 Gopika Dasi - Hare Krishna (113)

Sunday feast lecture given by Bhakti Caksur Sundar Goswami on Bhagavad Gita 2.66.

Dallas, TX
2009-05-17

TRANSLATION

One who is not connected with the Supreme [in Krishna consciousness] can have neither transcendental intelligence nor a steady mind, without which there is no possibility of peace. And how can there be any happiness without peace?

PURPORT

Unless one is in Krishna consciousness, there is no possibility of peace. So it is confirmed in the Fifth Chapter (5.29) that when one understands that Krishna is the only enjoyer of all the good results of sacrifice and penance, that He is the proprietor of all universal manifestations, and that He is the real friend of all living entities, then only can one have real peace. Therefore, if one is not in Krishna consciousness, there cannot be a final goal for the mind. Disturbance is due to want of an ultimate goal, and when one is certain that Krishna is the enjoyer, proprietor and friend of everyone and everything, then one can, with a steady mind, bring about peace. Therefore, one who is engaged without a relationship with Krishna is certainly always in distress and is without peace, however much he may make a show of peace and spiritual advancement in life. Krishna consciousness is a self-manifested peaceful condition which can be achieved only in relationship with Krishna.

Download: 2009-05-17 - Bhakti Caksur Sundar Goswami - Sunday Feast Lecture - BG 2.66.mp3

Three monkeys sat on a coconut tree,
Discussing things as they're said to be.
Said one to the other,"Now listen you two, There's a certain rumor That can't be true ... That man descended from our noble race.
The very idea is a sure disgrace." "No monkey ever deserted his wife, Starved her babies and ruined her life.
And you've never known another monk, To leave her babies with others to bunk,Or pass them on from one to another."
"And another thing you will never see ... Is a monk build a fence around a coconut tree;
And let the coconuts go to waste, Forbidding all the other monks to taste."
"Why, if I put a fence around this tree, Starvation would force you to steal from me."
"And here's something else a monk won't do ...Go out at night and get in a stew; Or use a gun or club or knife,To take some other monkey's life."
"Yes, man descended ... ornery cuss,But, brother, ... he didn't descend from us!

~ Author Unknown ~