Would anyone like an autographed copy of any of my cookbooks?

Many have already availed themselves of this opportunity. If you would like to do so, simply write to me at kurma.acbsp@pamho.net

By Srila Jiva Goswami dasa

My dear Eyes and Ears; Please accept my worthless obeisances at your lotus feet.

I was (am) one of those guys who read too much of what I can. It wasn’t until 1998 that I realized why I’d never heard anyone say, “Par-a-dijim.” (Paradigm)

Having bumped into “The Bhagavada Gita As It Is,” the way a fool might stumble into a rainbow, I asked, “Is there more?” It seemed Too Good and yes, all Too Wonderful. The Devotees! “Is there more?”

Vahna Prabhu personally gave me his copy of “The Nectar of Devotion.” It was one of those pink original paperbacks. You know the book. It is like a text of Devotee Etiquette, only completely linked with Scripture, and Reason. Srila Prabhupada and His Writing is Divine.

Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

I found myself at Old New Vrindabana, looking around at the Thousands of Devotees; Utta Moj! Along always with the aside, “(He’s amazing!)”

I took Prasadama with the Devotees, noting the Gracious Ways the Devotees Served each other, it seemed to me, in accordance with all that I’d over and over, over-read.

There was one bright eyed specimen, Chedi Shatru. This guy was not overtly sociable. You’d see him over by the “garbage,” with a kerchief tied around his head like a Ninja. His moves were quick too; almost bird like, sometimes. I noticed he never ate with The Devotees, but hung around, outside, waiting to come in … after. I’d read about this: Humility.

Perhaps even … (as he scampered up the side of a hill into the sunlight and trees) … feigning a transcendental madness.

The intensity was no feint. His glasses, when he wore them, were patched with a Band-Aid at one corner. The eyes behind them where white and blue, white and blue, and did not seem to blink.

One day, after noon Prasada, I cleaned my place and then waited. Almost immediately, Chedi came right on in. He began helping himself from the leftover Prasada and Merge. Then, using a sheet of newspaper, for a plate, and two fingers as a spoon, he began to take. He seemed thoughtful, among his elbows and knees.

My heart said, “Renunciate.” I sidled over. “Excuse me,” I tried not to chirp. There was no overt response but a shaking of rice from the fingers. He had heard. He waited. I inched up a little.
“I was just wondering,” I warbled. “Why do you wait until after The Others have gone before you take Prasadama.”

At this he turned to me. His eyes were clear as lights. I remember them now. I knew what I expected: A Transcendental Mystical Educational Enlightening Answer.

In what I saw as the beam from his eyes, bits of my question reverberated faintly “… just wondering … wait … why … after …”

“BECAUSE THE DEVOTEES ARE PIGS!!” he screamed. Flecks of matter sprayed in my direction.

“Oh …” To myself I whispered, “That wasn’t in the book.”

Puzzling back now today Dear Reader, I realize, as a Real Renunciate, Krsna had given the boy Chedi a Perfect way to get rid of another potential distraction.

 

Walking by the Yamuna River one cold Vrindavana evening we observed a group of pilgrims perfoming evening worship. The Yamuna River is considered sacred, for in her waters Sri Krishna bathed and played. For hundreds of years, this arotik has been performed every evening, while individual pilgrims place small leaf cups with tiny flames as their offerings.

 

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By Devakinandan das

We pray for the continued mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and all the devotees that we will somehow or other be always engaged in pleasing the Supreme Lord and His devotees, despite all our inebrities and faults.

By CNN

Five bouncing, chanting Hari Krishna guys, chanting "Hey Hari Hari,'' surrounded by 12 Chicago fans wearing Bears jerseys, singing, "Bear Down Chicago Bears'' and imitating the bouncing Krishnas.

This is a class given on 6 March 2007 in Ujjain, India. Click here to download (duration: 1h14m, filesize: 17mb) (Right click the link and choose either “save link as” or “save Target as”) Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.2.2 - Chapter 2: The Lord in the Heart

A new Podcast from H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami. Srila Prabhupada in my life - part 24 Click here to download (Right click the link and choose either “save link as” or “save Target as”)

jagannatha svami nayana patha gami bhavatu me…

Download (00:39:18) 36 MB

Caitanya Mahaprabhu extázisa Puriban
“…elmeállapota éjjel és nappal szinte azonos volt Radharani elmeállapotával, amelybe Radharani akkor került, amikor Uddhava Vrndavanába érkezett, hogy találkozzon a gopikkal. Az Úr állandóan olyan elmeállapotot mutatott, amely az elkülönülés tébolyát tükrözte. Minden tettének alapja a feledékenység volt, és szüntelenül az õrület beszélt Belõle. Teste pórusaiból vér szivárgott, fogai meglazultak. Az egyik pillanatban az egész teste lesoványodott, a következõben pedig meghízott. A folyosó mögötti kis szobát Gambhiranak nevezik. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu általában mindig ebben a szobában szállt meg, ám egy pillanatra sem hunyta le a szemét. Éjszakánként száját és fejét a falhoz dörzsölte, s így egész arcát sebek borították el. Noha a ház három ajtaja mindig zárva volt, az Úr mégis kijutott. Néha a Jagannatha templomnál találtak Rá, a Simha-dvara nevû kapu elõtt, néha pedig a tengerbe vetette Magát. Néha a Govardhanának hitte a homokdûnéket, és szélsebesen száguldott keresztül rajtuk. Futás közben hangosan sírt és jajgatott. Gondolatait a következõképpen fejezte ki: „Hol van életem Ura, aki fuvoláján játszik? Most mitévõ legyek? Hová menjek, hogy megtaláljam Nanda Maharaja fiát?” „Kihez szóljak? Ki értheti meg csalódottságomat? Nanda Maharaja fia nélkül megszakad a szívem!”… Caitanya-caritamrta, Madhya-lila 2.4-16

Download (00:09:22) 8.6 MB

 

A $5-million Hare Krishna temple is being proposed for a site on Route 34 opposite Canyon Woods Drive.

I just finished uploading the prayers of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada to my iPod shuffle. Why, pray tell, did I do this?

Someone made these wall decorations for Gaura Purnima out of cake doilies. Maybe not quite in the same class as William Morris whose influence can be seen in the architecture of the temple building! But pretty anyway; and the texts compliment the spirit of Lord Chaitanya's festival.

1969 March 10 : "I am so sinful I cannot even approach Krishna to show me any favor. Some way or other my Spiritual Master is dragging me towards Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 10 : "We don't want dry renouncers. I want that some ideal families should be established in your country so people can see our movement is not one sided."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 10 : "Caitanya Mahaprabhu married twice, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Prabhu and Srivas Prabhu, they were also householders. I was also a married man, my family still existing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 10 : "Wife is your half body for nourishing your Krishna Consciousness. If you live carefully and faithfully there will be no difficulty. That is the verdict of all Acaryas"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 10 : "My dear Japanese brothers and sisters, I think I am right when I say you are trying to be happy by imitating the material opulences of America. But I must say that you cannot be happy in that way."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 March 10 : "Although they have come from Europe and America, some thousands of miles away, it was impossible to arrange accommodation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 March 10 : "That is the proper vision. In the material world, black and white are opposites, but spiritually, black and white are varieties."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 March 10 : "Such talent is not so easily replaced. We must try to bring him back to the standard for his own benefit."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

It’s been a long time since I last wrote anything on this blog. Last time I wrote, I was living at the temple in Brisbane, Australia. Things didn’t work out there and I ended up homeless again shortly after my last blog entry. Finally, in January I got a place to live in a small historic town called Llantrisant in Wales, and that’s where I am now.

I am pretty busy these days juggling house work (the down side to having a home!), my research work for the Vedic Planetarium in Mayapur, and my science work at Cardiff University, and now I will try to add this blog to my juggling act. Please forgive me if I sometimes drop one or all of the above.

Today Guru Maharaja left Ujjain. He will go to Calcutta, Bangladesh, and Surat. Last evening, after singing Sri Sri Radhastakam, Guru Maharaja gave some pertinent “last” instructions to everyone: Whenever you can, try to come to the temple and attend the programs. Why are we here? We are here for the one purpose of developing [...]

Guru Maharaja SB Class 2.2.1, 5th March, 2007 (the following is a paraphrased rendition of the Questions and Answer session) Question: What is the difference between Visnu and Narayana? Guru Maharaja: Narayana is in charge of Vaikuntha, whereas Visnu is in charge of the material nature. Narayana is active, but Visnu is inactive because He has nothing to [...]

Radhanath Swami Maharaja leads kirtan, Jananivasa Prabhu performs as Nrsimhadeva, Gauravani Prabhu as Hiranjakasipu and Pankajanghri Prabhu as Prahlad Maharaja.

Today was another wonderful day in the Dham. I love giving Bhagavatam Class here because it really feels like you are speaking to Krishna, because there are more deities than people in attendance.

The weather was fantastic. The sun was shinning bright with a high in the sixties, you can't beat that.

The highlight of the day was playing with Keshava and Madhava, everyone including the cows were in a good mood because of the warm and sunny weather. At one point I thought I might have to convert to budhism because it seemed like Keshava was intent on chewing off my sikha, somehow in the end he settled for licking my head.

Cows are such loving affectionate creatures, every time I go to visit them I am amazed at how loving and social they are. No wonder they are so dear to Krishna.

Yesterday I visited Borders Bookshop here in Sydney and obtained a book on Reincarnation research. This was not flaky, new-age speculation, but rather a well-written account based on scientific tests collaborating authentic, strictly documented cases.

I personally need no convincing of the transmigration of the soul at death. But my father does. The other day my father reminded me that he felt that "The Spiritual Master" (my Spiritual Preceptor, Srila Prabhupada, whom my father met in 1971) was the greatest man of the 20th century.

Still my father admits to still being a stubborn agnostic, and needs convincing. "No-one has ever come back to prove that they lived before" is his rote answer to my attempts at explaining how it all works.

So after discovering a massive list of highly regarded literature on all things 'paranormal' (have a look at this - scroll up the page for a full list), I've obtained a volume to brush up on some case histories.

The book I have started reading is entitled 'Old Souls' by Tom Shroder.

Here's some blurb about the book:

"All across the globe, small children spontaneously speak of previous lives, beg to be taken 'home', pine for mothers and husbands and mistresses from another life, and know things that there seems to be no normal way for them to know. From the moment these children can talk, they speak of people and events from the past - not vague stories of centuries ago, but details of specific, identifiable individuals who may have died just months before the birth of the child in question.

For thirty-seven years, Dr. Ian Stevenson {see yesterday's blog} has traveled the world from Lebanon to suburban Virginia investigating and documenting more than two thousand of these past life memory cases. Now, his essentially unknown work is being brought to the mainstream by Tom Shroder, the first journalist to have the privilege of accompanying Dr. Stevenson in his fieldwork.

Shroder follows Stevenson into the lives of children and families touched by this phenomenon, changing from skeptic to believer as he comes face-to-face with concrete evidence he cannot discount in this spellbinding and true story."

I'm reading at the moment the story of Suzanne Ghanem. There's a family photo of her strange habit as a baby of holding a telephone receiver to her ear.

Suzanne's parents say that from the time she could utter her first words, she would pick up the phone and urgently call into it the name "Leila".

When she grew old enough to speak, Suzanne spoke of remembering the life of Hanan Mansour, a woman who died after heart surgery in a Virginia hospital.

Leila turned out to be the name of Hanan Mansour's daughter. Family members say that the woman had tried and failed to reach Leila by phone shortly before entering surgery for unsuccessful heart surgery, and her death.

New Yogi soap has arrived. Made from coconut oil with neem and tulsi, 100% organic. Cleanliness is godliness!

Next week we'll also be stocking organic ghee, perfect for offerings and your health.

Here is today's class on Srimad Bhagavatam 10.49.22

As Jai Krishna was chanting and dancing up and back in the temple room, dozens of temple first time comers as well as the regular devotees were right in synch with him. It was the best BYU group we have ever had. Everybody had so much fun.

After 20 minutes I asked if I should stop, "No please go, on, this is so interesting." was the teacher's response. Same question and answer after 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and 75 minutes.

Rod is rated the number 1 high school teacher in Utah, and one of the top ten in America. I have done presentations in his classrooms regularly for several years, we are good friends, and he invited me as a speaker at this conference.

(from the Bahulaban Deity Cookbook, compiled in the 1970’s)Ingredients:

1 Tbs. Salt
1 Tsp. Pepper
11/2 Tsp. Asafoetida
1 1/2 Tsp. Tumeric
3 Tbsp. Ghee
Cup Cauliflower in Tiny Flowerettes
3 Cups Cooked Rice
Fresh Chopped Coriander Leaves

Sprinkle Spices In Ghee And Pan Fry.
Add Cauliflower Bits and Pan Fry Until Tender.
Cover Pan Half Of Cooking Time.
Stir In Rice And Cook For 3 Minutes.
Garnish with Chopped Fresh Coriander Leaves.

With great pleasure we announce that for 10 weeks from May 13th 2007 until July 22nd 2007 the following courses will be available in Prabhupada-desa, Italy

Are these pastimes indicated for vaishnavas also, or not?

What is envy? Envy means, "I want to be seen as important and great and if anyone is a threat to my own egoistic idea, then there is negativity towards that person, perhaps in my thoughts, in my words, in my actions." But if devotees put as their goal -- as their aspiration -- humility, then there is no question of envy. Therefore the cardinal principle of Sri Caitanya's teachings is this verse from the Siksastaka:

This is our aspiration. We cannot enter into the higher realms of consciousness, until we develop this as our consciousness, of striving as the goal of our life, to be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to be ready to offer all respect to others, to expect no respect for oneself and in this way with a clean and sincere heart, to chant the name of Krishna constantly. This is our aspiration. Not to be a sannyasi, not to be a leader, not to be famous, not to be married in a wealthy family, not to be a president or a GBC or a sankirtan leader. These are all services, necessary services, which we should accept simply to assist our Guru's mission. But it is not our aspiration.

Our aspiration is to be more humble than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, to offer all respect to others and expect none in return and in this way to chant the name of the Lord constantly. And whatever our service may be, we should humbly execute our service, with this goal as our ambition in life. And if all of us, whether we are pujaris or cooks or whether we are sankirtan devotees or whether we are grihastas living outside having gainfully employed services to society and coming and chanting and making our families Krishna conscious, whatever our function may be, if we all unite under this aspiration of trnad api sunicena, there will be no envy. There will be sincere unity and then great progress can be made individually and collectively. And all sincere and innocent people of the world will be attracted to the atmosphere, where devotees are humbly coming together to chant the holy names of Krishna.


It is our great service to the Vaisnavas, by our example, by our words, to encourage and enthuse devotees in this direction.

Ever wandered who was he? There you go. Almost certain...

A Japa Retreat offers a wonderful opportunity to completely immerse oneself in the chanting of the Holy Names in the association of devotees and to make spiritual realizations, which carry us in our everyday life.

We are looking for 1 or 2 Pujari or even couple without children (there are not at the moment facilities) expert in cooking and worship. We offer all needed and financial support.

20.000 photos of Srila Prabhupada and more... Click here to go

The update of the page "Indian" of "Krishna Puzzles" site is completed: madhu.by.ru

Lokanath Swami: I was thinking, it was one of the first stories I was ever told as a child. The story of Dhruva Maharaja should be popularised. You have nicely packaged this dramatical narration with contemporary western music.

I would like to draw your attention to the latest musical offering by father and daughter team Jayadev and Gaurangi prabhus. Many of you may already be familiar with their beautiful dulcet musical style

New Vrindaban is situated in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and declared by Srila Prabhupada to be non-different from Sri Vrindavana Dhama. With thousands of acres of beautiful forest, New Vrindaban is an ideal setting to immerse oneself in sastra.

As some of you know, I have been working for several years to bring Mahabharata and Bhagavad-gita on stage in a professional and authentic way - to inspire people in general to appreciate Vedic culture and Krishna consciousness.

1966 March 9 :
"Today I went to see the Nepalese Ambassador. Then I went to Paragon Book Store. They have received 35 sets. I lost my cap on the bus. Meeting held from 7 to 9/30 pm. 8 eight members attended the lecture on Geeta & Kirtan. Income by contribution & books -- $13.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 9 : "You should not give attention to any outsider's advice because they are completely unfit to give you advice. Our only shelter is Krishna. Stick to this principle and success is sure for you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 9 : "At last George Harrison and Syamasundara have gone there to find a place. By the grace of the Lord it may be that the Paris center will be started now."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 March 9 : "Dear Sri Birlaji, I am not only establishing Temples in all important places of the Western World, but I am creating the devotees to run the Temples. I learn that you are interested to donate Radha Krishna Murtis."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 March 9 : "Lord Nityananda is Guru. He can instruct us. If a rascal actually wants to change, Nityananda Prabhu will hear our prayer. But one must agree not to be a rascal anymore."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 March 9 : "According to Darwin, homo sapiens came later, but according to Vedic knowledge Brahma, the most intelligent person, is born first. These mental speculators are rejected."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Story of Advaita Acarya’s appearances and early pastimes. Recorded on february 13, 2007 in Vrindavana (India).

Imli Tala, the tree of devotion - These are some of the stories related to the sacred Imli tree, who is found in Vrindavana. Story told while sitting on the Yamuna banks on february 14, 2007, in Vrindavana (India).

If you have a mobile phone, there is an "Options" feature in many parts of the menu.

Maybe you have noticed that when you started using your mobile phone you didn't use that feature, or were not sure how to use it. After some time, you learned how to use it and now you are using it regularly, perhaps sometimes regreting that you didn't start using it earlier.

Similarly in life, we have many more options than we see. We need to develop a skill of exploring and taking advantage of all the options that are available for us.

When trying to find solutions to daily challenges you face, ask yourself regularly:

Did I try everything I can? What else is possible? Are there any other options?

This will help you expand your horizon and find better solutions to problems you want to solve and results you want to achieve.

A friend recently told me about how she got her Vedic astrological chart done and it turned out that she was a different sign all together from her Western one. This is because the Vedic one calculates based on the moon rather than the sun, or something like that. So she encouraged me to get mine done too, and I’ve already been thinking about it. But now I’m worried. You see, up to this point I’ve really identified with my Western sign. Since the time my grandmother told me I was a Pisces when I was a young boy I have always seen the many similarities described about that sign in my own personality, both the good and bad. Although it wasn’t easy, I liked being a Pisces. The dreamer and spiritual seeker. Sometimes irresponsible but if he gets his head out of the clouds can do great things in this world. And she also told me about avoiding fire signs—although we would be attracted to each other, we would clash. So whenever I met a fire sign I warned myself to watch out. Stay away, if possible. I did end up having relationships with them and yes, it was never boring.

But now I question myself, if I get my Vedic chart done, what if I’m also something different? Or even worse, what if I am a dreaded fire sign? How will things change? Will I become like them? Was I always that way, but just never realized it? Who am I and who have I been all this time? Did I just become what I thought I was supposed to be based on my sign? Sometimes it is said that we are simply actors on a stage. We make up an image we want others to perceive us as, and often even fool ourselves.

These questions make us realize that we are conditioned in so many ways, and therefore develop various identities based on that conditioning. If it’s not from our sign, it’s based on our race, sex, country or ethnicity. The Gita explains that these are all false conceptions, but the real self is none of these things. The body is actually always changing—in this life from childhood to youth and youth to old age; and changes again into another body at death. But the soul is unchangeable, something completely different. Another friend told me how she was a singer since a young age and then one day, due to overuse of her vocal chords, couldn’t sing anymore. It proved to be a life changing experience as she then questioned her identity and began seriously her spiritual pursuit.

So maybe this will prove to be a good thing; that I will be able to renounce my attachment to my birth sign and the conditioning resulting in that; the story I’ve told myself about my life. For I am beyond all of these things-- I am an eternal soul, servant of the Supreme Lord. That, and that alone, is all I need to realize. With that said, I still hope that I won’t be a fire sign.

His Holiness Bhanu Swami will be visiting New Govardhana on Monday March, 12th and Tuesday March 13th, 2007.

Maharaja will be giving morning and evening classes during his stay at New Govardhana.

Everyone is Welcome.

 

New Govardhana Community

The industry, like others, suffers from strategic inertia. We’ve built an entire infrastructure around the way we used to do things, and we’re reluctant to abandon that investment. People ask me, “Why do you see underdogs trying PyroMarketing, but you don’t see larger businesses embracing it?” The answer is larger businesses have designed a structure around mass marketing. It’s a truism that “it is better to fail conventionally than succeed unconventionally.” Some marketers are content doing what they do because even if it doesn’t work, they can go in to their boss, and say, “I did everything I was supposed to do. It’s not my fault.”

Greg Stielstra , author of Pyromarketing, interviewed in Wharton Leadership Digest.

Oh how true this is. If you do what has always been done, and it fails, there's no great disgrace. It's the people today, the environment, whatever. If you try something different and it fails, however, that's your fault. It takes courage to be personally accountable for your success or failure.

If you try something new and it suceeds....? Some people will condemn you for having deviated from the "essential program" of slavishly mimicking previous forms. Some people will explain why it can't possibly work in another (their) situation, some will try slavishly mimicking it themselves, while others will look for the lessons to be learnt and seek to find the principles that they can apply in their situation.

This is not an inditement of anyone - it is simply a description of an organizational dynamic that is useful, nay essential to understand. Part of being realistic.

Underdogs innovate because they have nothing to lose. Once you become successful at something in a certain way, you become attached to that success, and loyal to that way. Paradoxically, success can be the enemy of innovation.

As I have advised you, My dear sons, you should act accordingly. Be very careful. By these means you will be freed from the ignorance of the desire for fruitive activity, and the knot of bondage in the heart will be completely severed. For further advancement, you should also give up the means. That is, you should not become attached to the process of liberation itself.

- Srimad Bhagavatam 5.5.14

To go forward means to give up one thing and accept something else. Becoming attached to ways of doing things can be the undoing of an organization as it struggles to come to grips with changing environmental circumstances. At the same time, giving up its essence, losing its soul, will do the same thing. From the commentary to the above verse:

Even those who are liberated (ātmārāma) must always engage in devotional service. One may give up the practice of yoga when one is self-realized, but at no stage can one give up devotional service. All other activities for self-realization, including yoga and philosophical speculation, may be given up, but devotional service must be retained at all times.

Both being slavishly attached to the rules and regulations without understanding their ultimate purpose (niyama-āgraha) at one extreme, and being whimsically neglectful of them (niyama-agraha) at the other are recipes for disaster.

Successful organizations (and individuals) "stimulate change" while "preserving the core", in the language of Jim Collins, author of "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't".

The way I think of it in terms of ISKCON is like this: "Innovative at the Edge, Conservative at the Core". Maintain orthodoxy at the core of the organization, and build out innovative environments around that orthodox core. It doesn't have to be one or the other - let it be both.

Let a thousand lotuses bloom.