Anyone who has ever visited a Hare Krishna Temple feast, or a Hare Krishna restaurant will have undoubtedly tasted the ultra-famous semolina halva. The memory of its sweet, warm, moist, spiritually-infused 'comfort food-iness' will no doubt have lingered long after all traces of the buttery ecstacy have left the lips.

You may not know just how widespread the halva story actually is, and how much world history there is to it. Halva is one of those dishes found from the Balkans to India and claimed as its own by practically every culture and country in between.

If the halva in the photo above looks familiar, this proves my point. Apart from the fancy shape, it looks just like what I used to cook and serve at Gopal's Restaurant in Melbourne (minus the custard) but in fact, it's a Turkish version, called helva.

Here in Greece, halva is one of the main Lenten sweets, especially the variety made with tahini and sold in block or brick form. This type of halva is called Makedonikos Halvas (Macedonian halva). It is sold by weight and comes plain, flavoured with chocolate, or studded with nuts. Greeks like to eat Makedonikos halvas sprinkled with lemon juice and cinnamon.

Here's some Makedonikos Halvas I espied at the Athens central markets the other day. This stuff is exported everywhere.

There are at least five or six other versions of halva in Greece, though. The most interesting recipes are the obscure cheese-based halvas found in some parts of northern Greece as well as in several Aegean islands.

Tasty, too, are the grain-based halvas from Thessaly. One old recipe, called sousamohalva, calls for sesame paste (tahini), wheat starch, chick peas and sugar.

Farsala, near Volos, is famous for its smooth-textured halva known either as sapoune or as Halva Farsalon. It is made with rice flour and is opaque and unctuous with a crisp tasty topping of burnt sugar.

My host returned from work last night and proudly presented me with a box of Halva Farsalon that he had bought on the way home from an exclusive sweet shop. I photographed it this morning before it was 'dispached'. This is it:

There is the hard, white kommat halvas, very similar to nougat, which is studded with walnuts, and which is found in bakeries in Salonika. Halva tis Rinas is a baked semolina version, the most common kind of halva and the one usually found in the home kitchen.

Although halva is found all over Greece, it seems most likely that the etymology and perhaps the origins of the dish are Turkish. According to the "Classical Turkish Dictionary," the word 'halva' in Turkish means sweet, but has evolved over time to be associated mainly with the name of the particular sweet in question.

I've become so enlivened about this subject (food history fascinates me) that I've compiled a complete essay on the subject of halva. Read it...

Kirtan & Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.31 on the different levels of realization & the importance of attentive chanting of the holy names.

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by Bhatka-Chris

Srila Prabhupada relates from the Nectar of Devotion that a moment’s association with a pure devotee brings feelings of such bliss and realization that have no comparison with anything material or mundane. It is this pure association, with Krsna’s dear most servants, and with Krsna Himself, that is the locus point of motivation for all service that we perform.

For many odd reasons I cannot even fathom, Krsna has provided me, just another American kid full of lust, dust, and bones, with rare moments of association with some of Prabhupada’s most powerful servants. But, there usually is a catch, some way I fumble the football. I met Bhatka-Tirtha Maharaja some years ago in Detroit, and the only thing I can remember from our conversation is the beautiful jewel of his smile and his asking about my girlfriend at the time without me even saying I was in a relationship. Oh, how I wish I could remember the rest of the conversation!! The first time I was ever at New Vrindavan, for the Govardhan Puja festival, I fell asleep ten feet in front of Radhanath Maharaja for most of his loving and rich telling of the Govardhan Hill pastime, and also, along with the other devotees I was traveling with, received his blessings just before we began a long night’s drive back to Michigan. We thought…oh, how auspicious! I then proceeded to get into an accident on the freeway a half-hour later. Anyone who has ever seen the car His Grace Purusa-Sukta Das drives…well, that big dent on the back is my fault.

Most recently, I was at New Vrindavan for the 2006 Festival of Inspiration (FOI). Being there for the week before the FOI even began, I got a real good, intense taste of where my service attitude was at. And where it was at was a lot of internal complaining of not wanting to spend time in the kitchen, and basically more complaining of how I thought this was going to be a vacation. Anyone who is anyone knows that being absorbed in the service prep for the FOI is no vacation, at least on any mundane level.

So, I adjusted as quickly as I could through my own difficulties, trying to subtly and not-so-subtly beat my whining inner child into submission. As the FOI drew nearer, what needed to be done grew to a fever pitch. In between one service and another, I joined our favorite mrdanga wizard Balarama Chandra Das for a quick jaunt up to Rupa-Nuga’s house to fill up about five or six big water jugs. That day was grey and wet, so we got the jugs filled up with wet, we got wet, and we jumped back into the Civic to roll downhill to the Temple.

We spied a curious sight as we drove in. A certain brave devotee with an umbrella was out for a japa-walk. Balarama pulled the car up next to this devotee, as we asked him if he needed a ride. The shining face of HH Sacinandana Maharaja responded in the affirmative to our reply. Now, at this point, I really had no idea who Maharaja was, and I sat in the front seat and looked back at the back seat filled with jugs and other junk, I wondered how this poor devotee was going to fit in the backseat. As I refused and delayed to move, Balarama, always a model of equipoise, began to ask, then demand, and then push me with great desperation out of the front seat so Maharaja, who was still shining, could come out of the rain. I eventually picked up the football I had fumbled and squeezed myself into the backseat, and Maharaja graciously took our quarter-mile ride back to his cabin.

When we got there, we were instantly invited in to take darshan of his Deities, despite the temporary hassle I had caused him. His Deities had the most beautiful, translucent color of blue I had ever seen. And what loving and lifelike detail! That color of blue, straight from Vaikuntha, is branded onto the fine tissues of my mind. As we left, Maharaja asked me my name, and he told me I was of a “Nectarine” quality. I didn’t quite catch that, so I
responded with a typical Sicilian and brusque”Huh?!” Maharaja, with even more enthusiasm, told me once again I was “Nectarine” I thanked him, and ran off back into the rain and the service with Balarama.

I still don’t believe I am anything resembling “Nectarine.” Maybe more like some stale orange juice…but to any senior devotee reading this, beware of Bhatka-Chris, who is prone to making a fool out of himself at the drop of a hat, and who will test your unlimited patience, and who will allow you to exhibit that patience in a way that would make Prabhupada very happy.

Sanskrit verses pronounced in a particular way by a young sadhaka...

By giving people knowledge, jnana, that is the highest service to humanity. So we are performing the actual welfare work of society by informing everyone through our literatures who is God, who they are, and what is the relationship.

One of the most beautiful temples at Vrindavan is the one built by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), and the queues for darshan are a testimony to its popularity.

1968 January 16: "Be good boy and girl and always chant. You will be so pleased with the result.Yamuna, you are a little better than Janaki but don't get puffed up and be good to those a little less fortunate."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 January 16: "Still one has to learn about the greatness of Krishna. To come to the stage of spontaneous love for Krishna is a very high stage, and it is not to be imitated. That is the system."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 January 16 : "You are with us for the last four years and still if you cannot surrender to Krishna without any doubt, then what kind of progress you have made? May I ask you if you are regularly chanting 16 rounds of beads?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 January 16 : "Scarcity of money certainly means mismanagement. I have seen that sometimes they sell books and do not send back the money. An accurate account of all dealings must be kept. How else things will be managed?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 January 16 : "Your body is already sold to Krishna. We are all sold to Krishna and we have no other business but His service. That should be our determination. Offer my blessings to all."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 January 16 : "Upon your recommendation, I am gladly accepting them as my duly initiated disciples. Now you must take full responsibility to give them all guidance and facility for perfecting their lives in Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 16 : "The art is to keep everyone always happily engaged in Krishna's service. Then they will advance rapidly. Just you become very serious and thoughtful and learn how to engage everyone very nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

"Do not think, 'This is my house,'" I recently wrote to a disciple. "You should always think, 'This is Krishna's house, and I am living here as a servant.'"

I hit the key and sent off the e-mail. Then I began to reflect on what I had just written. "Why don't you take your own advice?" I asked myself.

I got up and walked into the living room of my apartment and looked out the window at the awful city around me—the smokestacks and the dirty, gray apartment buildings.

"This is not my house," I said to myself. "It is Krishna's house. It is Prabhupada's house, and I am living here as a servant. I have to use everything in this house the way Srila Prabhupada would want me to."

Suddenly I felt as if I were in Vrindavan. The big window seemed to become an open veranda and the ugly, drab city turned into the trees and grass of Vraja Dham.

I still knew where I was, of course, and I could still see the smokestacks, but now Vrindavan was just a thought away.

"It's so easy," I said to myself. "Just see what a thought can do. Now I have to try living it."

© Umapati Swami, January 16, 2007

Photo: Deities in a Hong Kong apartment

A new Podcast from H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami. Srila Prabhupada in my life - part 17 Click here to download (Right click the link and choose either “save link as” or “save Target as”) Transcription by Bhn. Rischma In Bombay, in ’77, we had a very wonderful time with Srila Prabhupada. Just three of us, Tamal Krishna Maharaja, Upendra prabhu [...]

I had an interesting coaching session in one European ISKCON centre about few months ago.

A devotee came and mentioned a particular problem.

I asked the devotee to imagine being an expert on this kind of problems and to offer some advice and solutions to his client (himself), then I left the room for a few minutes. When I came back, the devotee was smiling, showing me 5-6 ideas about how to solve the problem.

Now, I said, go back to your original identity and give me 10 best excuses why these solutions can't be implemented. I left the room again for a while.

When I came back, the devotee was laughing almost uncontrollably, having found solutions himself and clearly seeing his habit of self-sabotage.

I said, do you know that you can CHOOSE which of the two people you want to be - the solutions one or the excuses one? I said, this is your whole life, right there on paper, and it all came from
you, both things came from you. The devotee laughed even more and was SO happy!

When I came back to that same centre after several days, I saw the devotee engaged in service looking high-spirited and bright.

Vrindavan was recommended by FFL headquarters because of the many struggling families it touches every day with its food distribution programme and the availability of suitable land to sustain a large and vibrant fruit tree orchard.

1) 100 EUROS

It happened the second week of marathon. There was over noon and I haven't distributed any books yet - so I was praying to Lord Krishna very intensely. "My Lord, I am completely helpless, but on your permission I can distribute books to this people." When I rung on the next door nice lady comes and takes two books. "Thank you my Lord". At the next door math's instructor takes four books. Few doors later I meet one very interesting lady. She already red Path of Perfection and she like it very much. After nice talk and presentation of the whole set I asked her for donation - "you can give 50 euros" I said. As she was reaching for the wallet I spontaneously add: " You can also give 100 euros if you want". And she coldheartedly starts to take out big "bills". 20 euros, another 20 euros, another 20 euros, iI was watching from the distance and my heart started to bet faster. "This is generous" I thought to myself. And the lady puts out the forth and also the fifth bill - altogether 100 euros. "Ups, this is enough for two sets" I am smiling silently. "This is all I have, is it enough?" she asks. "Yes, off course, very generous of you. I didn't expect so much. Just wait a moment to bring you all the books."As I was running down the stair, I have been calculating In my head how many books can I give her for this amount of Laxmi. "One full set, three mini sets plus one Bg, althogether 19 books, unbelievable." As I was caring them in my hands the stock reached over the top of my head. As I enter like this in here apartment, she said" O Santa Claus came". I explained to her which books she received and that she can give 3 extra mini sets for presents. We separated in completely transcendental atmosphere, wishing each other all the best. I was filling like flying in the air. This was the all merciful nrila Prabhupada marathon.

2) THREE TIMES.

It was around noon I and came to high, locked iron gates. I rung the bell hoping someone would come to the gates. Usually in this kind of circumstance people kick your from "safe" distance, bust I was counting on the mercy of guru, Krishna, vaisnavas and specially Srila Prabhupada. Finally big women open the doors and shouts what I want. "Delivery, today everyone receives something" I shout back. She comes down the stares and I present her the books, still behind locked gates. After short talk she takes BG and first part of SB1. I continuo along the street and stop passing by car. Driver was smiling and threw conversation we discover that that lady is his wife. I offer him other books and he takes the second part of SB1. But this is not all. In the evening he parks the car right ahead of me and so me met again. I asked him if his wife is happy with the books and he nodes smilingly. He said he wants them also for his son. "No problem" I said and we go to his store and make a "business". In this way Lord Krishna showed to this family his mercy three times in a day.

2007-02-15

2007-01-11

Srila Prabhupada’s mission is very whole and we must consider and regard every part of that whole. Srila Prabhupada established temples. Srila Prabhupada established asramas and farm communities. He also taught personally the proper behaviour of vaishnavas toward Krishna, toward one another and toward the people in general and through this, he gave us a culture. Prabhupada's books point the way to that culture. We must also provide the culture in which, after they have conviction of it that they can live by it and be protected by it. That means a spiritual environment.

H H Radhanath Swami Maharaj

by your servant
Kirpamaya das

That is how the day started. I had just opened up the Palace Gift Shop. As I listened to the drips of morbid rain water beating their dirge on the roof above my head I thought “Krishna!… !.. Looks like another overcast day spelled with a capital “D” for depression. Can’t You do something about these depressing drips?”

Suddenly the wind began to blow with an eerie howl. A tall stranger walked into the gift shop. With long hair flowing down below his shoulders he started staring at the ceiling for a long time. “How strange!” I thought “Hope he is not some kind of weirdo!” After a few tense moments of silence he walked to the back of the gift shop as if he knew where he was going and sure enough he did. He peered through the wrought iron gates into the abandoned restaurant. My curiosity bump was bursting my kurta. A few buttons fell to the floor.

Finally he came over to me and with an outstretched hand said “Hari Bol! Prabhu” We shook hands. It turns out the he wasn’t a stranger after all, at least not to the thousands of hand cut pieces of colored glass in New Vrindaban’s stain glass windows. It was Bhakta Jim who had lived in New Vrindaban for several years working with Narendra Prabhu in the stain glass department. He had just come from the R.V.C. temple.

He informed me that the center portion of the stain glass skylight above the R.V.C. temple room used to be above where I was standing in the gift shop. “After we installed it here, we decided to enlarge it and bring it down for Radha Vrindaban Chandra to look up at.” He said with a wry Brijabasi smile. “Sounds familiar!” I thought. “Most have been a massive undertaking” I said. “Yea! But something about this place inspired us to do the impossible. Even though it’s been twenty years since I’ve been here, because I helped make these stain glass windows , there is a part of me that will never leave New Vrindaban.”

Now I felt like a strange weirdo. How judgmental I had been when he first walked in. We talked for some time. He said he was now a teacher of sociology for a college in Western Michigan. He had four grownup children and was currently working on his P.H.D. He told me his dream was to someday help establish the credibility of the Hare Krishna movement in the eyes of modern academia.

Then he said. “Prabhu! Before I go can you let me see the sky lights of the old gift shop and restaurant? “Sure!” I said. I grabbed the keys and off we went. As we looked at the skylights we came to one panel where Bhakta Jim began to yelp! like an excited puppy. “I remember that piece of cut glass up there. Do you see it?” As he pointed the sun came out from hiding. I raised my squinting eyes, trying to see what he was pointing at.

“I remember that piece. It came from a barrel of rejected pieces and I saved it and put it up there for Srila Prabhupada”. I could not see the piece of glass he was pointing to, but I did get his point. As the sun light filtered through the colored pieces of glass in the skylight Bhakta Jim turned to me and said ” We were all rejected broken pieces of glass, of different colors…different shapes. Then Srila Prabhupada put us together and made a wonderful offering to Sri Sri Radha Vrindabanchandra.” Bhakta Jim’s eyes glowed like the skylight above our heads. It was contagious. The drips of rain water were no longer depressing to me. I had found something else instead.

While visiting a family here in Athens I was offered a traditional 'spoon-sweet' - a sticky, smooth confection, with a glass of cold water. The taste was very special - the aroma of pine, cedar, incence, elusive ... something I had tasted a long time ago.

I enquired from my hosts what that flavour was, and was told it is called mastic. Immediately it all came flooding back to me.

Years ago when I was living in Albert Park, a suburb of Melbourne, I was shopping at the corner store run by a Greek family when I noticed a little packet labelled mastiha, containing tiny crystals appearing like clear frankincence, hanging on a rack near the counter. I asked what it was, and was told it was used in Greek sweets.

Sometime later when I was testing recipes for my second book 'Cooking with Kurma', I discovered a Greek rice pudding flavoured with mastic. I tested it, and liked it, but finally our team of tasters and I (reluctantly) agreed that probably it was a bit too exotic, an 'acquired taste', so it was dropped from the book.

Mastic is a resin, the hardened sap from a tree grown only in the Greek island of Chios. There's a fascinating story to it. You can read more here...

And here's a recipe for that spoon sweet. It's sweet - not for the feint-hearted! Gum Mastic is available in select Greek and specialty stores.

Mastiha Gliko A traditional Greek speciality offered to guests on arrival. Other spoon sweets are made of fruit preserves. Serves 4.

1 3/4 cups water 500g approx (one pound exactly) sugar, granulated 2 tsp lemon juice 3 tsp mastic, finely pounded with a little sugar

Combine the water and sugar in a saucepan, bring to the boil stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

Add one teaspoon of lemon juice and boil until the syrup is at the firm ball stage, 240°F-250°F. Remove from the heat and cool.

When the syrup is cold beat briskly and add another teaspoon of lemon juice and the mastic.

Continue beating until it is clear shiny white. Add a little water if the mixture is too thick - it should be gooey.

Turn into a bowl and serve on a tray with a teaspoon and a glass of iced water.

Hello Kurma. I'm doing a project at school on 'Cheese Making'. Can you tell me all the steps to how cheese is made? Thanks! Mercedes, Florida

Hi Mercedes,

You can make your own homemade cheese, a very simple variety. This is called panir, and is pictured above.

For information on rennet (rennin).

Here's an overview of the process.

FUNDAMENTALS OF CHEESEMAKING

A key factor in natural cheese is its selective concentration of the insoluble components of milk. Heat, acid, salt and bacteria both jointly and singly play effective roles in transferring the concentrate into an acceptable, fresh food of predictable quality, or later in conjunction with other micro-organisms and enzymes, into a cured food.

Natural cheese can be classified into groups according to its moisture content, age, type of ripening agents or the rheological qualities of the cheese. For example, classification of natural cheese based on moisture is divided into four groups: very high H2O (Cottage cheese), high H2O (Mozzarella cheese), medium H2O (Cheddar cheese), and low H2O (Parmesan cheese). The moisture levels range from 80% to 13%.

The following table displays the basic steps in cheese making. These seven steps are used for most of the 18 distinct variables of natural cheese making.

BASIC STEPS IN MAJOR CHEESEMAKING

1. Setting the milk

The first step in basic cheese making is to prepare warm milk with starter and rennet extract or paste (of animal or non-animal origin) causing the milk to curd into a block. This curd may either be set with starter only causing an acid iso-electric casein, or a sweeter, calcium paracasein curd, set with both starter and rennet extract. The sweeter curd will materialise in only 15 to 30 minutes at about 32 degrees Celsius however, the acid iso-electric casein curd will take approximately 5 to 16 hours to curd at a given temperature.

The optimum pasteurised temperature is 161.6 degrees F (72 degrees Celsius) for 16 seconds. Only pasteurised milk is used for fresh cheese, however raw, heated or pasteurised milk may be set for ripened cheese.

The rennin extract is added to the milk, causing the milk curd. However, vibrations may cause a non-homogeneous curd. A milk container protecting against light is necessary because rennin is unstable to light. Also, it is inactivated at normal pasteurisation temperatures and is most stable at pH 4.0.

2. Cutting the curd

The horizontal-wire knife is initially used to cut the curd into strips using a swing-gate motion. It is only used to cut in one direction, lengthwise. The vertical-wire knife is then placed in the curd and moved in two directions, the long and cross directions. Cutting the curd increases the surface area of the curd.

3. Cooking the Curds

Cooking the curd is generally defined as heating the curd and whey for a specific time, while agitating. This process may be accomplished by using direct steam, jacketed water, or radio-frequency. Cooking the curd serves many purposes such as contracting the curd particles, driving out the free whey, increasing lactic acid production, suppressing spoilage from micro-organisms and influencing the final cheese moisture.

4. Draining Whey

Separating the whey from the curds is accomplished by using a metal strainer or a sieve. Draining time will vary from 15 to 60 minutes, depending on the vat size. The whey acidity determines when to begin draining. This process also allows more time for lactic acid production.

5. Knitting and transforming the Curds

The type of cheese being processed and it's texture will determine the time period of this application. During this time, lactic acid is accumulated causing the curd to change chemically and provide the correct moisture content. This will also allow microbial constituency for curing.

6. Salting of Curds

The purpose of salting the cheese is to improve its flavour, texture and appearance to suppress the growth of spoilage micro-organisms. When and how much salt is added is dependent on the type of cheese being processed.

7. Pressing

This process gives the cheese its characteristic shape, texture, and extrudes free whey. The cheese is placed in a metal or wooden vat, usually with some type of weight placed on it to cause pressure. The standard equipment used is the horizontal, hydraulic pressure plate type presses. Adjusting the specifications of the previous steps will cause different varieties of cheese.

So that's it, "in a nutshell."

Yesterday I visited the fruit and vegetable markets in Omonia Square, downtown Athens. It was a bit underwhelming really - I have seen much better markets in my overseas travels. However, as is often the case, I found a few gems which made the journey all the more worthwhile.

Hórta is Greek for wild greens. The gathering of Hórta is done during the spring and winter months, and is a major part of Greek countryside life.

In the Greek countryside, many of the locals can be seen in the hills, gathering great bunches of these wild greens. On clear dry days, they will wind their way down from higher ground, clutching simple plastic bags, which are bulging with fresh wild greens ready for immediate consumption.

At the markets I noticed many green leafy vegetables that were very unfamilar. This one, for instance, (below) reminded me, at least appearance wise, of coriander. I tasted some, and I immediately knew it was something else. But what?

In fact it is called Kafkalíthra here is Greece, and is a wild green, botanically known as Tordylium apulum.

There are over sixty varieties of edible plants growing in the Greek countryside and there are numerous ways in which to prepare them. They are usually boiled for about 20 minutes and served hot or cold, with olive oil and lemon juice.

Here's another mystery vegetable. There were a few varieties of this dotted around the markets, some with this reddish hue and some without.

When I got home from the markets I asked my hosts to translate (or actually 'transliterate') the names on the price tags, and I was able to track them down via the internet. An amazing research tool indeed!

This says Alivarvara Lakonias. Alivarvara is another wild Greek green, and apparently this one is from the Lakonia province, in Greece's southern Peloponnisos region. And at 4 Euro a kilo, someone's making a big profit from wild greens!

Here's a short list of a few more ‘Hórta’ and their English translations:

Agriomároulo - Dandelion Vléeta - Pigweed Ágria Sparángia - Wild asparagus Radhíki Ágrio - Bitter Chicory Radhíki tis Thálassas - Spiny Chicory Máratho - Fennel Andrákla - Purslane

All of these plants have therapeutic qualities and are immensely beneficial to the stomach and the digestive system.

The healing herb and the original fragrances of the earth are manifestations of God the Father, made available via Mother Nature, who provides amply for Her children. We bow to Them with respect.

We held a thank you picnic for the book and holiday prasadam distributors on Saturday at Burnley Gardens on the banks of the Yarra. Acintya Rupa prepared a great feast and a good time was had by all.

Of significance was the quantity of books we were able to distribute in the month of December. Thirty eight devotees went out and they distributed a total of 6590 books which is more than double last year's efforts. Glenn was number one with 1853, Vraja Nari second with 1128 and Nanda Mandira was third distributing 892 books. It was a great effort especially on behalf of the part timers who did an excellent job. Thank you everyone.

The trick now is to increase on that. That will keep us busy this year.

On a more business like note could all those of you who took books from the book room please return them so Dandakaranya Prabhu can do a stock take? If you took books home but haven't distributed them please return them now. You can take more books after we've completed the stock take. Thanks.

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.47.28 from today morning and 10.47.22 from yesterday on rendering selfless service to Krishna.

The latest from Indradyumna Swami. His offering to Srila Prabhupada on his disappearance day in 2006...

I am writing my offering to you today at Sankari Cor, a most sacred place at the foot of Varsana hill, in Sri Vrindavan Dhama. Though I have visited this holy tirtha a number of times, I still cannot fathom my good fortune in being here. Nevertheless, I am fully aware that the source of such auspiciousness is your Divine Grace.

The devotees in Mayapur were immersed in the nectar of Srimad Bhagavatham in Hindi for full three and half hours...

We heard many amazing stories of book distribution heroics at the European festival. Anakadundubhi, the perennial winner in Italy and sometimes the world, had a several surgical operations and was supposed to rest. He somehow got a table inside of a supermarket and still distributed many books, coming in sixth place for Italy in only a few weeks. Caitanya Ananda, the steady winner in Finland, had a one kilogram cancerous tumor removed. He could use only his right arm and could not go out. He stayed at the temple using his right hand to dial the phone and sold enough books to be in third place for Finland. That is "ahaituki bhakti". Core team of brahmacari distributors in Finland have been traveling together for 8 years. They are lead by their Temple President, Tattvada Prabhu, who is a brahmacari and also goes for book distribution throughout the year. He also keeps the temple running very smoothly and organizes a lot of summer "INDIA FESTIVALS". He was an officer in the army and his training is now applied to keep the sankirtan army on the front lines.. There were so many new bhaktas and bhaktins from many countries who distributed many books. One team of two bhaktas in Italy distribed almost 5000 maha big books between them. The German yatra had 126 devotees, many of them bhaktas and bhaktins, participating in the marathon distribution. Seeing that was very enlivening. All of us so called "senior" devotees could only keep thanking everyone for their dedication and enthusiasm to maintain the preaching spirit that Srila Prabhupada gave to us..Also many older devotees went out. One went alone to ICELAND and distributed many books. Seeing that was very enlivening. All of us so called "senior" devotees could only keep thanking everyone for their dedication and enthusiasm to maintain the preaching spirit that Srila Prabhupada gave to us.. We especially have to thank HG Mangal Maya Prabhu, the sankirtan leader. Not many years ago, after some disruption in the yatra, he was alone on the marathon..

1) 100 EUROS

It happened the second week of marathon. There was over noon and I haven't distributed any books yet - so I was praying to Lord Krishna very intensely. "My Lord, I am completely helpless, but on your permission I can distribute books to this people." When I rung on the next door nice lady comes and takes two books. "Thank you my Lord". At the next door math's instructor takes four books. Few doors later I meet one very interesting lady. She already red Path of Perfection and she like it very much. After nice talk and presentation of the whole set I asked her for donation - "you can give 50 euros" I said. As she was reaching for the wallet I spontaneously add: " You can also give 100 euros if you want". And she coldheartedly starts to take out big "bills". 20 euros, another 20 euros, another 20 euros, iI was watching from the distance and my heart started to bet faster. "This is generous" I thought to myself. And the lady puts out the forth and also the fifth bill - altogether 100 euros. "Ups, this is enough for two sets" I am smiling silently. "This is all I have, is it enough?" she asks. "Yes, off course, very generous of you. I didn't expect so much. Just wait a moment to bring you all the books."As I was running down the stair, I have been calculating In my head how many books can I give her for this amount of Laxmi. "One full set, three mini sets plus one Bg, althogether 19 books, unbelievable." As I was caring them in my hands the stock reached over the top of my head. As I enter like this in here apartment, she said" O Santa Claus came". I explained to her which books she received and that she can give 3 extra mini sets for presents. We separated in completely transcendental atmosphere, wishing each other all the best. I was filling like flying in the air. This was the all merciful nrila Prabhupada marathon.

2) THREE TIMES.

It was around noon I and came to high, locked iron gates. I rung the bell hoping someone would come to the gates. Usually in this kind of circumstance people kick your from "safe" distance, bust I was counting on the mercy of guru, Krishna, vaisnavas and specially Srila Prabhupada. Finally big women open the doors and shouts what I want. "Delivery, today everyone receives something" I shout back. She comes down the stares and I present her the books, still behind locked gates. After short talk she takes BG and first part of SB1. I continuo along the street and stop passing by car. Driver was smiling and threw conversation we discover that that lady is his wife. I offer him other books and he takes the second part of SB1. But this is not all. In the evening he parks the car right ahead of me and so me met again. I asked him if his wife is happy with the books and he nodes smilingly. He said he wants them also for his son. "No problem" I said and we go to his store and make a "business". In this way Lord Krishna showed to this family his mercy three times in a day.

By Divyambara Devi Dasi

The Japa Retreat in the Catskills Forest is filling up. We can accommodate up to 80 participants, and seats are still available. Join this rare assembly of devotees and get all the support you need to improve your Hare Krishna japa chanting!

A friend raised the following points, which I found stimulating. I address them here, inviting others to share their doubts, views, experiences, insights and prescriptions.

"My observation of BV [Bhakti-vriksha] and trying to implement it, is that it is often a separate initiative from the temple and its bag of programs. It becomes another program that has to compete for mindshare and resources, rather than becoming the new strategic organizational structure for the yatra . . . It requires cutting back on programs and building the cellular focus as the basis for everything."

I find this meditation intriguing and urgent for the long-term vision of how our movement should develop.

Historically, ISKCON in the West started small. I am not referring specifically to Srila Prabhupada's (an army of one) landing and gaining a foothold in the United States. I am thinking of the dynamics of the first few temples: small and intimate, family-like, and which after a short span of a few months would "multiply": a few devotees from one center would pack their bags and move to another city to start a new temple.

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By Praghosa dasa

Going back to the original question - does sport have any place in the life of a devotee? We can fairly confidently conclude that sport of the professional, competitive and passionate variety does not, and clearly falls into the category of what Srila Prabhupada termed 'unnecessary sports'. Yet if we remove those elements, the argument could be made that engaging in sports like tennis, basketball or squash etc., might be okay for devotees. Perhaps not young full time temple devotees who have the opportunity to spend hours either dancing in kirtan or harinam but rather for the middle aged devotee variety who are more or less chained to their desks at work. One quote that might interest those under the grip of the middle-age spread relates to Lord Balarama who used the equivalent of a bat and ball in his victory over Dvivida;

By Manu dasa

Please take five minutes to update your information. If your temple has an email address or website, please update the listing accordingly. More than 4000 new people every day visit Krishna.com in search of Krishna. Many end up visiting their nearest local temple. If your contact information is not there, or out of date, they will be unable to visit you.

By Dayananda das

Prabhupada"s point about "no scarcity" is extremely important. He was interested to hear that although his disciple was giving fifty percent he had no scarcity of facilities to maintain his family.

By Karuna Purna dasi

My first shock arriving in Vrindavan after nineteen years of absence was seeing the amount of rubbish, plastic bags and inedible food in the streets that not only pollute Vrindavan, but also constitute a hazard, particularly for cows’ health and ultimately their life, as you very rightly pointed out.

By Krishna-kripa dasa

When we invite you to come to Mayapur, more important than our personal request, is the desire of the great souls we are trying to represent. In reality, Bhaktivinode Thakura and Srila Prabhupada are inviting you to come to Mayapur for the Gaura Purnima festival!

By Jagatkarta das

Earn commissions and bonuses to upgrade homeowners to solar power. No fee required. Anyone, homeowner or not, is welcome.

This is the latest class given at London 12 Lanuary 2007

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I just had the most blissful wonderful experience of sharing Lord Chaitanya's mercy in the slums of Mumbai. Jaya Gauranga PRabhu and myself were hanging out in my room messing around on a harmonium when one of the brahmacaris, Vittal Deva Prabhu, invited us to attend a nearby program. My immeadiate response was a no, I have not been feeling so great and have just been trying to relax, here there is unlimited opportunity to preach, I could be going out every night but I didn't really come here to do that, I came more to take association of the devotee and gather strength and inspiration by associating with my senior god brothers, but Jaya Gauranga Prabhu was immeadiately very enthusiastic to attend, and he gave me the "you're in maya look." and it was true, I had to surrender. So off we went with Harmonium and Mrdanga, not at all knowing what was in store. I've been to many preaching programs here in Mumbai, most of them in high rise apartment complexes, college dorms, or opulent mansions, but I'd never been to a program in a real Mumbai slum.

At frist I was a little taken back as we wound our way through the dimly lit alleys, just barely wide enough for two people to walk by shoulder to shoulder, and then we arrived, the "house" was only about eight feet by ten feet, with a tiny kitchen and a small loft, and six people lived there, but never the less the place was very clean and they had a wonderful altar as the center of their small house, with Shri Shri Radha Govina as the presiding dieties.

We sat down on the bed and began kirtan with harmonum and mrdanga, gradually more and more people came attracted by the holy name, and the "dancing white elephants." I led kirtan for about half an hour, I gave a short lecture about the glories of Kolavecha Sridhar and how even in extreme poverty he possed the greatest wealth of love of God, and then Jaya Gauranga Prabhu led everyone in an ecstatic dancing kirtan, There were about twenty of us crammed in this tiny room, and many more standing outside, all dancing and chanting. I was so inspired to see all these people living in such conditions but nevertheless taking to the sankirtan movement of Lord Chaitanya. It was really an amazing demonstration of the powerful of the sankirtan movement.

Param vijayate sri krishna sankirtanam!
Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu ki jaya!

1968 January 15: "I am at present physically unfit; but still I am working. Physically and mentally we may be disturbed sometimes, but we have to stand erect on the spiritual platform."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 January 15: "The whole thing was smashed by different doctrine. Now it is understood that he does not believe in parampara or in the necessity of scriptural authority. I do not understand how you would like this recent doctrine."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 January 15: "This is a glorious death. I am so much grieved to learn the news of our revered god-brother, and I am so glad to learn that he passed away in full sense chanting 'Krishna, Krishna'."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Question: Gurumaharaj, you were mentioning that two situations are conducive for someone to take to spiritual life. One situation is if they don’t have anything and the other situation is if they have prosperity but they are fed up with it; but nowadays people have more and more and are not ready to give up. What [...]

It's not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win, that makes the difference.

"I have heard that you may be going to Heidelberg, Germany, where there is a very large and important university. That is our best field. Become yourself very convinced and learned in our Krishna philosophy and take it into such university and contaminate everything with it. We are not afraid to challenge every mundane philosopher and defeat them, because they are simply operating on the mental platform which is constantly changing, so they cannot have any real authority. But because we are hearing from the Source of all knowledge, Krishna, through His representatives, the saints and acaryas in disciplic succession, we have got solid basis for understanding. If we are very much convinced to preach in this way, the intelligent class of men will respect and join us, and this will be your success in Germany. If a Marx can change so many men's minds to follow his imperfect philosophy, what can Krishna, the Supreme Perfect, accomplish! If we remain pure and teach others purely, then we will achieve all success and the whole world listen to us and be delivered from their very dangerous condition. Thank you very much for assisting me in this great endeavor, I think you are convinced that it is the highest and most exalted activity of all."

- Letter to: Sivananda, 12 December, 1971

The Houston temple is maintained by Grihastha congregation members alone. It’s a living example of how congregation members can serve co-operatively in Srila Prabhupada’s mission. The Houston community has disciples of many Gurus serving together. This temple was established by HH Tamal Krishna Goswami Maharaja in the 1980s. HH Giridhari Maharaja is the local GBC and many sannyasis visit all throughout the year. Now, it is a thriving community of disciples of many Gurus.

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Recently I wrote to a famous success teacher Brian Tracy.

Dear Brian
Greetings from London!

Did you read the ancient wisdom-book Bhagavad-gita? Perhaps it will be interesting for you to know that one of its verses describes five factors of action:

"The place of action [the body], the performer, the various senses, the many different kinds of endeavor, and ultimately the Supersoul - these are the five factors of action." Bg 18.14

One objection I have to success teachers' teachings is that they mainly make us feel as if we are the only doer and that all results depend on us and our willpower or persistence. According to the Gita, the Supersoul (expansion of God in our heart) is the most important factor of action. Gita also says that from the Supersoul comes rememberance, knowledge and forgetfulness and that He is the ability in man. Many times what success teacher say sounds like we are or can become almighty, which I don't think is true, based on experience.

I am curious to hear your thought on this.

This is Brian's reply: "I absolutely agree with you on the importance and centrality of the Supersoul."

1970 January 15 : "People are going to hell for want of proper guidance. No other religious institution is so much serious about God consciousness as we are. So you must train in such spirit of alertness, then we shall be able to open hundreds of centers."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 January 15 : "Our most important thing is on the street. The Sankirtana program must be executed very nicely. Even though we do not have our own house, it does not matter, there is no cause for perturbation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Hare Krishna! And Happy New Year! Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Well, we are at the beginning of a fresh New Year, another wonderful opportunity to render some devotional service to the Lord.

This coming Thursday, Jan. 18th at 5 PM, at the Sewing Department (the old Membership cabin between the Lodge and the Temple), we will be having a little meeting, photo-shoot of the current seamstresses, etc. We invite and welcome any newcomers that would like to participate in any way, in our current and upcoming projects. Light prasadam will be served. We will also be posting updates on our progress, photos, and thank-yous to everyone, on both Jayamurari’s emails, and on the Brijabasispirit.com.

My favorite saying is that, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” so it is a good time to make a small commitment to serve our Lordships, Sri-Sri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra, Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subadra, Lord Baladeva, Sri Nathiji, Gaura-Nitai, Prahlada and Lord Nrshinghadeva, Radha-Madhava, Radha-Vrindaban Natha and our wonderful silas. We are so fortunate here at New Vrindaban to have all of these wonderful Deities available for Darshan and worship. Let us make Them the Priority of the New Year.

So this is the fourth year of the Radharani Club. Since its inception, we have offered three beautiful outfits to the Deities, all of which have been sewn in Vrindaban, India. This past year, we used a different tailor, since the first raised his price by $1500 The new tailor didn’t have proper patterns, some of the pieces were missing (arriving much later) and some arrived needing to be sewed according to measurement.

Under the pressure of the upcoming Janmastami festival, the sewing department came together and saved the day. I previously reported all the names of the wonderful devotees who helped to finish the outfits, but they were a great success. Since so many people were enlivened by the fact that our own “Brijabasis” were working together to sew for the Lord, the NV Sewing Department was reborn.

So devotees, friends and well-wishers, whoever would like to participate in our upcoming sewing projects, please speak to either M. Kunjabiharini, M. Harinam or M. Radhasundari. We are currently sewing for the Gaura-Purnima outfits and M..Kunjabiharini and M. Harinam have picked out the most beautiful raw silk material, very spring-like and very regal.

For those of you who would like to participate financially in direct service for the Deities, please continue to send your donations into the Radharani Club. This account is totally separate from the temple’s funds, and we are totally independent and self-sufficient. It is a wonderful way to serve the Lord, especially for those of us who don’t live here at N.V., but love the beautiful faces of Sri-Sri Radha-Vrindaban Chandra.

Please send your checks or M.O.’s to:

The Radharani Club
c/o Sachimata Prins
RR 1, Box 270B, Moundsville, WV 26041.

You can also email me at Sachimata108@aol.com if you have any suggestions or comments.

Even though we are not sending laxsmi off to India, the need for funds is ongoing. We are covering the heat and electricity for the sewing cabin, making some renovations, etc. Laxsmi is needed for material, jewels, beads, flowers, jewelry, etc. Our project is an ongoing offering of devotional service to the Lord.

I remain, yours in Krishna’s Service,

Sachimata

This year the Mayapur Festival Committee will inaugurate the Sri Panca-tattva Abhishek of the Holy Name. ISKCON's best kirtaneers will...

When Radhanath Swami describes the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, each detail brings us more and more into the presence of...

One may wonder about the significance of such a photo on the cover of the February 1979 Brijabasi Spirit. “It’s just some silos, a big building, and snow all over the ground. What’s the point?” One purpose (I cannot state definitively, as I wasn’t the editor) was what those buildings signified at the time.

February 1979. We were about 7 months away from opening Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold (although it may not have had this name then). The large building on the right in the photo was called the “Utility Building”. No, it’s not a very flowery name, but it was, as the name suggests, functional. The other structure was the “New Barn”, although it really never, ever looked “new”, even when recently built.

The goshalla was the home for our beloved herd of cows. We had an award-winning Brown Swiss bull (perhaps more than 1), and many Brown Swiss cows, among others, all housed in this ‘new’ complex. They were all diligently cared for by the cowherd boys, headed by Amburish prabhu.

If you’ve never cared for a cow, or horse, or other large animal, it’s like, well, another ‘family member’ but bigger than most. You gotta feed and water it every day; they never get ‘house-broken’, so there’s stuff to clean up there too. They need regulated servicing, daily. “I’m sorry prabhu, you gotta do it; they don’t care if it’s ekadasi, or a big festival day, or you don’t feel well, or you wanna go to Ratha yatra. You gotta stay and feed/milk/clean up after/herd the cows”.

But knowing that Krsna loves them makes that all worthwhile. And, well, there were always those milk sweets too…

The photo shows 3 silos in front of the barn- 2 metal “Harvestore” silos, and 1 made from concrete blocks. We stored the food for the cows in these 3 silos so they had something nice to eat in the winter months. (We grew all that food too, but that’s another story). This was a major improvement for us (what to speak of the cows), as we previously had bales of hay to store and use as feed. And the bales of hay were always, in a manner of speaking, an uphill struggle (“all right, take those bales off the truck in the parking lot, carry them up the hill, into the top of the old barn, then haul them upstairs to stack. And stack them properly, so they don’t ignite and burn the whole barn down”). It seems like the truck always came after lunch.

The cows were a major ‘center of attraction’ in New Vrindaban in the old days, at least indirectly. While they were cared for by relatively few devotees, everyone benefited from their service. We always had lots of milk to drink, albeit skimmed, and the Deities received lots of fresh whole milk, ghee, yogurt, srikand, condensed milk, world-famous sweet rice (the likes of which are just not known to anyone who didn’t experience it then), pera, burfy, sandesh…………….an almost endless list. Radha Vrindaban Chandra very much enjoyed the service these cows rendered, a fact that can be attested to by anyone fortunate enough to taste those maha-prasad remnants ‘back then’.

As Srila Prabhupada taught us, the cows are Krsna’ best friends, and by serving them nicely He is pleased. So the devotees sincerely tried and did their best, regardless of the circumstances, facilities, or lack there-of.

The Utility Building, at that time, housed grhasta ‘apartments’ (1-room units, 10 x 20 foot long) upstairs, along with the jewelry, woodshop, sculpting, other departments. Downstairs was the metal shop, mold and casting shop, plumbing department (Jaya Murari prabhu was always smart enough to get his quarters as near to the furnace as possible, ensuring heat during the long, cold winter days and nights).

In these different shops and departments the devotees were designing, planning and building the different components that went into Srila Prabhupada’s Palace. In the jewelry room, mother Isani made elegant crowns, necklaces, and other ornaments for the Deities and the Palace. Working with copper sheets, she and her team made shapes and forms from the copper, plated it with gold or silver, installed ‘findings’ with crystasl or stones, etc. and turned raw materials into jewelry and ornaments for the Palace.

Marudeva das pounded steel into various shapes and assembled beautiful wrought-iron gates and window grills.

Sudhanu and his team took components that were originally carved in teakwood in India and made molds of them, and reproduced them in various ways for decorating Srila Prabhupada’s palace. They also designed many of the pieces there. For making a mold, he used “Black Tuffy”, a type of flexible rubber-type material that came in components. You mixed them in proportions, and then poured it into a tall pipe that delivered it into the case of the mold. You needed the height the pipe provided, so there was pressure on the liquid black tuffy to flow over the model piece within the case. As it was pretty thick, it took some time to pour; often the time required was sufficient to allow Sudhanu to fall asleep standing up, holding a 5 gallon bucket in both hands while pouring it into the pipe- or alongside it, as often happens when you fall asleep doing such things.

Bhagavatananda prabhu had his sculpture studio upstairs; he carved the lions’ head that graces the wainscoting in the Study at the Palace, among other things.

The planning department occupied one small room upstairs; Param Brahma prabhu and other devotees “planned” for future development.

All things considered, this building was a dynamic center for devotional service, rendered by sincere yet un-trained devotees who had a desire simply to please Srila Prabhupada by building a nice home for him in New Vrindaban.

“When my Palace is ready I will come live there 6 months a year and concentrate on translating my books” Srila Prabhupada had told us. Those were words of inspiration that created a vision, a burning desire, a willingness to tolerate all the austerities, difficulties and inconveniences involved to finish Srila Prabhupada’s palace- even though he had left our vision 16 months earlier.

And dozens of dedicated, sincere, loving devotees served in these 2 seemingly plain buildings, for the sole purpose of trying to please the Lords’ pure devotee. No, these were not ordinary buildings, nor the individuals who served in them.

Google PageRank measures how important a website by how many other websites link to it. The more people link to a website, the more important it is. If no one is linking to a given website it will have a PageRank of 0, if practically everyone on the entire World Wide Web is linking a website it will have a PageRank of 10.

The more important a website, the more likely it is to appear higher up in the list of search results in Google. The higher a site is in the list of search results, the more people find and visit it. So, PageRank gives a good idea of how much impact a website is having.

(You can check the PageRank of any website using this tool.)

I’ve compiled a list of the various Krishna conscious blogs over the Internet with a Google PageRank score of 5. Five is the highest PageRank of any KC blog I’ve found. A few non-blog websites like Krishna.com and Iskcon.com have a PageRank of 6, but that’s about it.

So then - behold - here the list of those Krishna conscious blogs with the most world-wide impact (according to Google):

• A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada’s letters posted each day in a blog format
  http://sangalog.blogspot.com/
• Blog of the Atma Yoga center in Brisbane, Australia
  http://www.atmayoga.com.au/
• Balarama Chandra Dasa’s blog about the Krishna Camp at the Rainbow Gathering
  http://www.krishnacamp.com/
• Candidasa dasa’s blog, the one you are reading right here
  http://www.deltaflow.com
• Devamrita Swami’s blog about his travels
  http://www.devaswami.com/
• Blog of the Gaura Yoga center in Wellington, New Zealand (although there is only one entry so far)
  http://www.gaurayoga.co.nz/
• Kurma dasa’s blog about cooking and his travels
  http://www.iskcon.net.au/kurma/
• Lilamayi Subhadra devi dasi’s blog about a her activities in South Africa
  http://lsd.deltaflow.com/
• Blog of the Loft in Auckland, New Zealand
  http://www.theloft.org.nz/
• Satoxi’s blog about life as a Hare Krishna girl
  http://satoxi.wordpress.com/
• Visnumaya devi dasi’s blog about her activities in New Zealand
  http://www.visnumaya.info/

(if you have a PageRank of 5, but are not on the list, please comment or email me and I’ll add you).