Some say quality is more important than quantity and it's an interesting point. I have been talking with some chanters recently on livehelp about this...they want to chant as many rounds as possible, but sometimes have to rush their Japa to meet their daily quota.

My personal feeling is that both should be there....16 attentive rounds (or as many as you can chant daily). It's a very easy trap to fall into...rushing to get our rounds finished and forgetting about quality, I certainly have been guilty of this on many occassions in the past.

From my experience it's a matter of a concerted effort by the intelligence to bring the mind back to the mantra - it's a constant battle to pronounce and hear properly...but the battle can be won if we are determined.

The Krishna Temple at 8628 S State St. in Spanish Fork invites everyone to come celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights, on Sat. Nov 10 from 6 pm. The event will include classical and folk dancing, live music, dramas, a ceremony of lights, huge vegetarian feast, and offering of respects to a live cow.

By Partha sarathi dasa

We also have 12 bhaktas that are reading and chanting regularly. Our programs are spreading, now I host a mantra meditation class once a week and also Mondays and Fridays I have a small program of bhajans and prasadam.

Sometimes, in Krishna consciousness, we do things a certain way because “that’s how they do it in India.” Our culture originates there and sometimes certain things carry over that don’t really seem to make sense to outsiders (or even to us if we really think about it).

Things that don’t really have a spiritual benefit. Like only eating off of stainless steel.

It’s cleaner, right? Sure is - just as clean as anything what now with the invention of soap! Even so, I will pretty much only eat off of stainless steel.

And don’t forget Bollywood movies, brass trinkets and anything with a “Made in India” sticker on it!

And what about Gamshas? Ah, yes, the towel of the demigods! Are they really all that great? Honestly, I’ve used a gamsha since becoming a devotee and have rarely used anything else. Maybe at the occasional motel…

But really nothing more. Even when I stay at a friend’s house, I’ll bring a gamsha. I like it! It packs really neatly and it’s small. It also dries really quickly. And no lint! I hate lint.

Oh sure, some of my friends giggle, “why you using that Krishna towel!?” And if they ever try it out, ohh they generally hate it. I’m pretty sure you have to be a practicing devotee to really get the gamsha.

Nikki started using gamshas for a bit and hated them. She switched back to regular towels - a big fluffy gray one. Oh but when she was backpacking for the summer, what did she request? That’s right.. THREE of my gamshas! She even paid me for them!

Yeah, once you go gamsha, you never go back.

I need new gamshas. I’m down to one (never replaced the ones I sold to Nikki). And look at it…

It’s pathetic. But it’s lasted me at least five or six years. Can hardly beat that, huh.

Why the crap am I posting about this? Well, I just wanted to let the readers know that I use a gamsha and I’m not ashamed! And now, faced with this breath-takingly important crossroads, I choose to take a stand and buy a few more gamshas when I’m at New Vrndavana. Yeah, I could go back to big fluffy karmi towels chalked full of mode of badness and MAYA!!

But I know better.

And remember, kids… karmi towels are Satan’s fluffy fingers!!

by mrupa

I’m afraid I do not remember too much about the coming of Saligram Sila to New Vrindavana. I do recall when Srila Prabhupad was deciding to begin the introduction of worshiping Saligram Sila in ISKCON, He first entrusted this highly delicate and demanding service to two long proven and highly devoted pujaris: Jananivas in Mayapur and Radhanath in New Vrindavana.

I do not remember who brought our two Saligram Silas here to begin Their service, or who named Them Hiranyagarbha (because He had an egg shaped form like a universe) and Nrsngha (because of the markings on His form). I do remember it meant the end of women on the altar or in the pujari room at Bahulavan, and that that crushed a lot of resigned-to-the-needful hearts.

The other word I associate with Saligram Sila is—dysentery. It was community-wide waves of debilitating dysentery that seemed to follow known or unknown mishaps during the worship of Sri Saligram Sila. These included but were far from limited to a pujari’s chaddar becoming snagged on the hand chased throne of Hiranyagarbha and flipping Him over the altar stairs and on to the floor. Or the highly gasped at faux paux of mixing up the Lord’s bathing substances; and instead of bathing Their Lordships with ghee as was recommended, mustard seed oil was used one morning.

Then in the very early ‘90s as the attempt at Interfaith in New Vrindavana was winding down, one morning the head pujari went on the altar to wake the Deities and Saligram and one of Their chief pujaris were discovered to be missing. It turned out they were all heading for Malaysia, the pujari feeling the Saligrams were not being treated properly enough.

Sri Govardhana Sila however, came separately and some time after the appearance of Sri Hiryanyagarbha, and Sri Nrsngha, as He was to accompany Sri Nathaji and His installation in the present temple.

Sankirtana has a wonderful play about the finding and carrying of Sri Govardhana to New Vrindavana by Radhanath Swami and Mahabhuddi Prabhu.

Sankirtana’s play is based on the account given him by Radhanath Swami after their return to New Vrindavana. (more…)

Radhikakrpa dd: At the age of seventy, clad in saffron robes, Srila Prabhupada reached the west with a heart of gold Showered mercy on all who came across Full of compassion he was Dawned from the spiritual world.

Our Kartik Nectar Series continues with a lecture from HH Radhanath Swami titled “Surredering With Sincere Prayers”, spoken during the Vrindavana Yatra of 2004 at Fogla Ashram.

Download Standard Podcast
Our Kartik Nectar Series continues with a lecture from HH Radhanath Swami titled “Surredering With Sincere Prayers”, spoken during the Vrindavana Yatra of 2004 at Fogla Ashram.Download Standard Podcast

1965 November 8 : "We have simply wasted time by quarreling with one another. Let us join with our other godbrothers and combinedly preach the cult of Gaura Hari in every cities and villages of the western countries."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1965

1968 November 8 : "When one is very much sexually disturbed he should think of Lord Krishna's pastimes with the Gopis, and he will forget his sex urge. To think of Krishna's pastimes with Gopis, but not to try to imitate."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 November 8: "Develop things in the natural way, so gradually more people can come. Before I came to your country, I was thinking to establish an ideal Vedic community. So please work very hard to make this grow."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 November 8 : "Why there is so-called discrepancy, these are most insignificant matters, and for anyone who is sincerely convinced that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for him these questions do not arise."
1972 November 8 :

1972 November 8 : "Sometimes there are allegorical explanations. There are many things which do not corroborate with the so-called modern science. But where is the guarantee that modern science is correct?"
1972 November 8 :

1972 November 8 : "I have heard that his officers did everything without informing him. Just like in our ISKCON there are so many false things: "Prabhupada said this, Prabhupada said that."
1972 November 8 :

1973 November 8 : "We are not in that position now. For us to kill like that we first have to become first class Krsna devotees like Arjuna or Hanuman, then we can fight with the Ravanas and demons."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 November 8 : "Books will always remain. That was the view of my Guru Maharaja, and I have also taken it. Therefore I started my movement with my books and if there are no more temples, then the books shall remain."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

I've been here for just about a month now, it is always interesting to see how when we go to a new place magically the same circumstances seem to manifest themselves.

Earlier this year in New York Maharaj spoke about this,

“You actually make more spiritual progress by being where you are and just working things out, because really what you have to work out is within yourself. Because anywhere you go there is going to be many problems and anywhere you go your mind is always going to want to be somewhere else, so yes we may go place to place, that is not a bad thing. But we make more progress if we really settle down and learn to work through our own mind and our own ego by steady devotional service, because in many ways when you wander around you don’t have to face yourself. When you have a service and you have a place you have to face a lot of things within yourself and that helps us to overcome those weaknesses and take shelter of Krishna.”

My roommate here, Damodar Gopal Prabhu, is very sweet and sincere and is a very hard working devotee with an amazing service attitude.

The ironic thing is that he is something equivalent to a temple commander of the project here. And of course my previous roommate in New Vrindavan was also something like a temple commander

Damodar Gopal Prabhu's main service is to make sure everyone is attending the morning program and other programs.

And my nature is to do my own program, which makes us quite an interesting couple. Actually in many we ways we are complete opposites. Krishna has a funny sense of humor.

Other than politely asking me to attend various programs he didn't say anything to me but I knew it was bothering him. So last night I brought it up with him and we had an interesting conversation.

It was of course a serious conversation but I couldn't help but find the whole thing ironic because the conversation seemed almost identical to conversations I had earlier this year with my previous roommate.

It seems that often times in spiritual life we have to repeat the same lesson until we learn it and even when we learn the lesson we have to continue to repeat the same lesson but in a deeper way, because the lesson is quite simple but its application is very deep.

I am not sure exactly what to make of the situation. Let us see what Krishna reveals.

Anyhow here are a few more photos.

Nityananda Prabhu, he is only in his second year of studying here but he is teach most of the classes, including first year grammar, second year grammar and what we call "tika" class which is a grammatical study of the Bhagavatam commentaries.



Damodar Gopal Prabhu, my illustrious roommate.



Gopiparandhana Prabhu and his son Gaura Mohana.


















Our bathroom, the black and white strips accent the prison theme.

Last weekend, I went to the NYC Burning Man Decompression Festival. Despite the frigid weather, Krishna Camp was there and holdin' strong, distributing hot plates of kicheree and an array of spiritual refreshments. Devotees from Alachua, DC, and Chicago showed up just for the festivities. The high lite of the party was the rockin' kirtan session, somewhere around midnight would be my best guess.
My artistic contribution was a series of "talking" collages, put together using a handful of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, along with a stack of reclaimed cardboard boxes.This art project consumed my entire last week in DC and became my constant meditation. All of the pieces were interactive, featuring such personalities as Run DMC, Rick James, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Statue of Liberty, the Pope, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, A.C. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a handful of Burmese Buddhist monks, and several cows.
For a couple hours, I sat in the entrance way of the Queens Museum of Art where the indoor portion of the event was held, and laid out 20 collages for people to play with. Tons of folks came over and participated. No doubt, the art bundles were a hit.
As you can see, nothin' but good company and great conversation. If you would like to have your very own "talking" collage in your home, let me know and I'll see what I can do. For more photos of the festival, check out the Krishna Camp website (soon to be posted!). Thanks to all the devotees for another awesome adventure in the transcendental journey back home to Godhead. Till the next one...

This is the sacred month of Damodar (also known as Kartik) on the Vaisnava lunar calendar. It comes every year in October-November. It is a very spiritual month when devotees are encouraged to go to Vrindavan, India to spend the entire month engaged in devotional service in Lord Sri Krishna's sweet transcendental abode. For those who cannot go to...

It is not easy to describe the Durga Puja Festival we just attended in Bangkok. We got a pretty big party ready and a big supply of books and headed for the the "WAT KET" (Indian Temple) on Silom Road. Silom Road is a famous place for tourists where everything genuine and copy is for sale.

I was expecting a busy night at the temple, but it turned out to be much more. At least one mile of the street was blocked off and hundreds of Durga worshipers had set up their altars (Durga, Shiva and Ganesh).They were busy giving blessings and exorcizing ghosts. This had been going on all afternoon. The devotees who went early had already run out of books. The kirtan and even though it could only be heard for a few feet, the blissful dancing attracted big crowds. The book table was mobbed and the devotees who wondered into the crowd, including me, could barely keep up with the souls who wanted books.

One couple stopped to look at the BHAGAVAD GITA As It Is. The mataji was fascinated and her husband was telling me that she wanted to know where she could buy it. They were ecstatic when I told them I was selling. I took them to the book table where they bought two volumes of the GITA and a RAMAYANA. They already had the KRSNA book and had even been to Vrndavan.

It just kept getting more crowded since they were waiting for the Deity to come out of the temple for a procession. That would start sometime after midnight and go until 2 or 3 in the morning. We were blessed by the Devas and sold 60 maha big books and 700 small books.

Next year we will be prepared with a big altar and a proper sound system and be there all day. We hope that many devotees will stop by on their way to Vrndavan for this. HG Satyanarayan Prabhu was looking for us but the crowd was too much and he could not find us. No one could hear their phone ringing beneath the noise of the kirtan that blasting music coming from all the exhibits.

Here's a practical application of some of the things I posted yesterday.

You start off by saying to me:

My / Our problem is that I / we don't have enough...

I stop you right there, and without even having to hear the rest can tell you:

Your problem is that your plan is unrealistic.

That's the only problem.

- The whole world is perfect - except maybe you -

Coming down from the highest philosophical platform to a more mundane application:

This world is perfect, as the Sri Isopanisad explains:

The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.

- Sri Isopanisad, Invocation

Everything is perfect as it is. It is our realization of it that is faulty.

- Application to Leadership and Self-Leadership -

At the practical level of leadership and self-leadership, whenever you think that there is something wrong with either the environmental conditions or the resources at your disposal, know immediately that what is wrong is neither of those, but rather your plan (your realization).

The environment is what it is. That's reality. The resources at your disposal, either personal or organizational, are what they are. That's reality.

The only area where there is some room for unreality to creep in is your plan.

If this is still too theoretical for you, just try this. Every time you catch yourself saying: "The problem is that...", stop yourself and finish it with: "our / my plan is unrealistic."

Once you start doing this you'll find (not control, but) the ability to influence the situation returning to your hands. By assuming responsibility you gain response-ability - the capability to become proactive in the situation.

It's not that you don't have enough men, enough money, enough time. It's just that you don't know what to do with the manpower, money, and time that you do have. Your plan is unrealistic given the constraints of the reality that you find yourself in.

Some illustrations to help you grasp the idea:

- His Holiness Hanumat-presaka Swami on being practical -

I first glimpsed this principle while I was in South America. I was in charge of an inner-city temple and restaurant. His Holiness Hanumat-presaka Swami visited and gave me some advice. He said: "One way of doing things is to look at what you've got, and then figure out what you can do with it. Let's say you've got a kitchen and a pickup truck. Well, then you might decide to do Food for Life. You cook in the kitchen, and you use the pickup truck to take the prasadam somewhere to distribute it."

Based on this instruction, when I arrived in Brisbane I could have complained that I didn't have this or I didn't have that, but instead I looked at what I did have, and figured out how to use that to get the next thing I needed to get the next thing I needed, and so on.

Once you realize that your plan is the only thing in the situation that you can change you stop complaining about the things you can't change, and get on with the business.

- An anecdote from Srila Prabhupada -

Srila Prabhupada tells the story of a vaisya, a person with financial acumen. He starts the day with nothing in his pocket. Then he finds a dead rat (that would be an possum in New Zealand or maybe a roo in Australia) and gets the government bounty for it. He uses this to buy some old vegetables, then sells those at a small profit. In this way he goes through the day working with whatever he has to get more.

- Jesus' Parable of the Talents -

Here is a story that Jesus told, that also illustrates this point - The Parable of the Talents:

The parable tells of a master who was leaving his home to travel, and before going gave his three servants different amounts of money. On returning from his travels, the master asked his servants for an account of the money given to them. The first servant reported that he was given five talents, and he had made five talents more. The master praised the servant as being good and faithful, gave him more responsibility because of his faithfulness, and invited the servant to be joyful together with him.

The second servant said that he had received two talents, and he had made two talents more. The master praised this servant in the same way as being good and faithful, giving him more responsibility and inviting the servant to be joyful together with him.

The last servant who had received one talent reported that knowing his master was a hard man, he buried his talent in the ground for safekeeping, and therefore returned the original amount to his master. The master called him a wicked and lazy servant, saying that he should have placed the money in the bank to generate interest. The master commanded that the one talent be taken away from that servant, and given to the servant with ten talents, because everyone that has much will be given more, and whoever that has a little, even the little that he has will be taken away. And the master ordered the servant to be thrown outside into the darkness where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The point here is that whatever you have can be used to generate more, if you have a realistic plan. If you spend all your time complaining and fantasizing about a reality that doesn't exist, then you'll get nowhere, and that's what you deserve.

So there is no point complaining that you don't have enough of (whatever). If you can't do something with what you have, it's because your plan is unrealistic given the reality of your situation. If you are unrealistic, then don't expect to be given more to work with. It's kind of obvious, really.

So once you understand this, all this complaining about the state of this institution or that, or what other people are doing or not doing becomes clearly irrelevant and unproductive. The only thing to do is to focus on who you are, where you are, what you have at your disposal, and what you should do next.

- "I admit no shortage in this world" - Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati -

From a devotional perspective, we understand that Krishna never gives us a challenge that we can't face. Whenever we are given a service to perform, Lord Balaram provides us with the strength to carry it out. So it is there. As Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati said: "I admit no shortage in this world except a shortage of Krishna Consciousness." Of course, Krishna Consciousness is reality. So the only shortage in this world is a shortage of realism.

- OK, I give in - now what? -

OK, so you've gone from banging your head against the window, sure that it would go through if you just had (more time, more money, more people helping you bang your head on the window).

You've left the ranks of the fruitless critics and whiners who can neither lead nor follow, but refuse to get out of the way.

You know what's just happened? You've overcome pride and become humble enough to admit - yep, it's my fault. Most people are ineffective because they are too proud to be able to make an accurate assessment. It's a disease that afflicts so many people, within and without our movement. Remember yesterday, I mentioned the example of Indra? We're referring to the Govardhan-lila here. Because of his pride he was unable to make a realistic assessment of Krishna's relative superiority. Result? Defeat.

OK, you're a rare one who wants to take the bold step. You're owning your failure to this point. "Ain't Nobody's Fault But Mine". You want to take back responsibility for your life - but you still find that things just don't work for you. What's going on?

It's not enough to realize that your plan is unrealistic, although that's a great start. You have to learn how to make realistic plans. How do you do that?

You could wait for my book to come out where I discuss it in detail. Or I may pre-publish some excerpts here, if there is any interest.

Hare Krishna

Devotees are approaching various individuals at the temple with questions. As an advisor to New Vrindavan for the last 2 years, I may be able to offer information that you find helpful. Below is a reserved schedule for your use and consideration.

Your servant,
Kuladri das
Kuladridas@aol.com

Every Wednesday 1:30 - 4:30 PM Personal devotee appointments
4:30- 6:00 PM Open door questions or group discussions

A signup sheet for personal appointments is posted by the Club 108 office (first door on the left in the hallway you enter next to the mailboxes) or email me.

Reminder-1-1:30 PM Jappa Monday through Friday, RVC temple.

Photos from Tuesday’s Dignitary Dinner.

 

"Consumerism is economically manifested in the chronic purchasing of new goods and services, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal. Consumerism is driven by huge sums spent on advertising designed to create both a desire to follow trends, and the resultant personal self-reward system based on acquisition. Materialism is one of the end results of consumerism.

Consumerism interferes with the workings of society by replacing the normal desire for an adequate supply of life’s necessities, community life, a stable family and healthy relationships with an artificial ongoing and insatiable quest for things and the money to buy them with little regard for the true utility of what is bought. An intended consequence of this, promoted by those who profit from consumerism, is to accelerate the discarding of the old, either because of lack of durability or a change in fashion. Landfills fill with cheap discarded products that fail early and cannot be repaired. Products are made psychologically obsolete long before they actually wear out. A generation is growing up without knowing what quality goods are. Friendship, family ties and personal autonomy are only promoted as a vehicle for gift giving and the rationale for the selection of communication services and personal acquisition. This short passage from The Subliminal man is a perfect illustration of this phenomena:"

“CONSUMED”
by Amedeo Felix 

 Srila Prabhupada: Oh, that's nice. It is very nice. So intelligent men and women should take interest in this great movement. It is a very scientific spiritual movement. People are suffering for lack of spiritual knowledge. They have become materially like animals. Materialism means animalism. Yes.

Materialism means animalism.

 Animalism means in the lower grade of existence. What is the difference between dog and a human being. He has got a lower grade body, and the human being has got a higher grade body. So the more we become materialistic, we get lower grade body. In the lower grade body, the consciousness works only on four activities, eating sleeping, sex life and defence. This is lower grade activities. And higher grade activities: working for understanding God.

That is higher grade life. In the lower grade life, nobody can understand God. In the higher grade life, one can understand God, yes. One can feel with intelligence. Just like dog may understand this is day, this is night. But he does not understand why it is day, why it is night. But a man can understand that it is day because the sun is there. And it is night because sun is now set. That is the difference dog and man. Better knowledge. So as we advance in better knowledge, that is perfection of life.

And the topmost knowledge is to understand Krishna.

 Then he's most perfect being. That is perfection. Knowledge other than Krishna consciousness-degraded knowledge, or lower grade knowledge. So at the present moment, although superficially, we have got very nice building, nice apartment, but the knowledge is doggish. How to eat, how to sleep, how to have sex life and how to defend. That's all. No more. The same degraded life as the dog. Dog is also trying how to live, how to sleep, how to have sex, and how to defend.

He's making: "bak bok bok bok." (barking sound) That is defence. His way of defence. That is defence. He's defending for the master. Similarly dog has also sex life, dog has also sleeps, dog also eats. So if a human being is also engaged in these four principles of business, then where is the difference between him and the dog? He must be interested in the business of understanding God. Then he's human being. Otherwise, he's a dog. Do you agree? Eh?

I was going through this website recently, very inspiring: http://www.scienceandscientist.org/

Reggeli lecke Budapesten a SB.4.11.12 versből.

Another ad in the NY Times caught my attention. It runs for a full three pages in the Sept 25th issue, touting the glories of India’s contributions to the world. There’s a bold headline: Experience India In New York, announcing a series of cultural events and conferences. The ad has its token images of sitar players and Bharatnatyam dancers along with pictures of business exec’s in ties. The ad’s real intent is not to introduce Indian culture to the West, but rather to broadcast how India is adapting to Western culture so magnificently.

There’s no mention of Gandhi, India’s acknowledged greatest figure of the past 100 years. Of course, no one would want to mention that Gandhi urged his followers to burn their British made clothes and reject British manufacturing methods and have Indians spin their own clothing. When asked about Western civilization, he said that he thought it would be a good idea. Gandhi wanted to strengthen the rural economy and small businesses of India, which echoes the intent of Thomas Jefferson who felt that the strength of America lay in the small farms and small businesses.

Gandhi and Osama Bin Laden are probably on the same page in regards to the West’s decadent influence although they obviously differ in their methodology. Had Bin Laden adapted Gandhi’s non violent tactics he may have had a far more reaching positive impact. But I digress. Back to my main point –

When Mark twain visited India over a hundred years ago, he recognized India’s greatness. He wrote, “India is the cradle of the human race, the birth place of human speech, the mother of history, the grandmother of legend and the great grandmother of tradition. Our most valuable and most instructive materials in the history of man are treasured up in India only. ”

But it would have been impossible to tamper with the greatness of Indian culture had not first the Hindus themselves tampered with and perverted their own tradition. Srila Prabhupada, the noble ambassador and scholar of India’s spiritual culture, explains that the Hindu caste system is artificial and many who were designated as low caste preferred to become Muslims. India’s spiritual heritage was being diluted. After the Muslims came the British. Finally, the multi-national corporate culture appears on the scene, and it will leave India only as a hollow shell of what it once was. Even now many farmers in rural India are committing suicide because they have fallen into debt to a duplicitous and unforgiving corporate structure.

Unfortunately, the real India, the Land of Dharma, is being covered over, and to experience it, one must somehow probe deeply into dharma, the principals of spirituality. Prabhupada has provided a wonderful service to humankind by making the real India accessible to all. Prabhupada, in the 1960’s, in an almost mythical journey at the advanced age of 70, almost penniless and under tremendous personal inconvenience, arrived on these shores on a freighter from India.

Just like Bush, who thought he would take his war against terrorism to the front lines, Prabhupada brought the fight against materialism to New York, the capital and epitome of materialistic culture. But unlike Bush’s war, Prabhupada did not need any bombs or armored vehicles or vast sums of money to entice the people or pay mercenaries. Prabhupada arrived in America armed only with the Holy Name of Krishna, with the sacred teachings of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavat Purana, and with the blessings of the previous acaryas (spiritual teachers). He came to give us a true understanding of the soul, of who we really are as eternal beings, and to reawaken our eternal relationship with the Supreme Soul, Sri Krishna.

“This knowledge is the king of education, the most secret of all secrets. It is the purest knowledge, and because it gives direct perception of the self by realization, it is the perfection of religion. It is everlasting, and it is joyfully performed.” Bhagavad Gita 9:2

“Sanjaya said: 'Thus have I heard the conversation of two great souls, Krishna and Arjuna. And so wonderful is that message that my hair is standing on end.' ” Gita 18:74

7 years ago when I was traveling as a hippie, (I mentioned in a previous blog) I knew I would live in San Diego for obvious reasons. It looked very beautiful and peaceful.

And when we traveled through LA on our way to a Further Festival Concert, I vowed to never live in LA: AKA BABYLON SYSTEM.



But here I am in the City of "fallen angels".

But things are different. I am now on a mission.

A mission to infiltrate the system and try to bring love and light to a place that so much needs it.

To the people who are exploited the most by this economic monster.




The Light of Godhead.

By Srila Prabhupada's mercy I have been given a ray of that light.

And that ray was powerful enough to show me my purpose in life, although still a seed.

But now that seed is growing and I realize that life is short. Time is ticking...With every heart beat, this body is dying and death is approaching fast!

And where in all of these limitless universes will my soul end up? And where in this array of 8,400,000 species of life will I be born and take another vehicle to call "myself"? Who knows...

But what I do know and what is within my power is that of desire for devotional service.

I just want to serve the divine mission of His Holiness Radhanatha Swami Maharaj, and His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhu.

I am returning to Babylon System, but this time with the tools and weapons to not only save my self from the influence of the acute disease of materialism, but to mabye even help others on the strength of the holy name of Lord Krishna and the blessing of the Spiritual Master

Godhead is light. Babylon System is darkenss.

Where there is Godhead, there can be no darkness.

It is time for a real revolution to begin. Internal and External.

ME! That’s who!

This weekend! I’m pretty jazzed about it.

Anyone else going? Radhanama? Chris? Would be fun. I promise!

I’ll be staying with Rati and Dwija and will be at the festival on Saturday and hopefully at the feast on Sunday.

• Unless devotees give the proper example to people in general how will the people follow?

"The first and foremost offence is the act of defaming the great saints who have glorified the chanting of the Name of the Lord by example in their own life and precepts.
According to ordinary moral principles, no one must be defamed for serving any ulterior motive. But still according to the gravity of different offences, defamation of Saints who have done much for the propagation of the Name of God and His Fame must be considered the gravest of all offences. Those who are therefore accustomed to defame such saints are spiritually great offenders and such persons can have no access to the transcendental Name of the Lord. We should therefore guard against such offence."

The Science of Congregational Chanting of the Name of the Lord - Back To Godhead 1944

1970 November 7 : "I know of this temple. I used to live next to it before living in the Radha-Damodara temple. We would like to get this at all costs, as it is very nicely situated on the Yamuna River."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 November 7 : "Instead of Sankirtana if you try to see so many government members, ministers and other important men, that will be nice. You may try and see Indira Gandhi and perhaps President Giri."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 November 7 : "She was so kind upon me when I used to visit your house, so affectionately feeding me. Surely Krishna will give her peace and prosperity in her next birth."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 November 7 : "Please arrange for this. I want one volume of Caitanya Caritamrta to be published for Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Appearance Day. Copies must be there in Mayapur for distribution on the day."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 November 7 : "My program is fixed up for going to Nairobi and from there I will return to Los Angeles via Rome where I will stop for two days for meeting with the Pope."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 November 7 : "Do not leave our society. If you cannot agree with the GBC, I can take up your matter personally. I love you all very much, and if you go away that will be a great shock for me."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 November 7 : "Revive your devotional activities without further delay. If you cannot cope with the GBC, I shall deal with you directly. But, do not leave at any cost."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 November 7 : "I do not know why this disruption has taken place. I know all of you are good souls. If there is any misunderstanding with the GBC men, that can be adjusted by mutual understanding."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

SKCON Prison Ministries is in need of old 'Back to Godhead' magazines. We get many requests from inmates for these beautiful magazines which are like touchstones in the dull environment of prison. If you have old copies sitting aroudn collecting dust please help us out. We would be willing to purchase them as well.

Contact bhakta Jerry at 773 808 1438 or bhaktajerry@gmail.com.

Thank you,
Bhakta Jerry

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After a few months gap, the Gwalior Central Jail invited us to do a program again for their three thousand prisoners. The only day open for us just happened to be the day before Rasa Purnima. We took almost twenty devotees with us, including devotees from Peru, America, Germany, Russia, and Iran. HH Subhaga Maharaja and HH Amiya Vilasa Maharaja also came with us. Just the day before, by the mercy of Vrinda Devi and the Vaisnavas, I was able to purchase one Toyota Qualis for taking devotees on parikrama. Its maiden voyage was to take the devotees to this jail program.

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Wednesday bhajans. An ulterior motive that I had to enthusiastically propose to Bali that they be hosted at my house was... well... to clean the house. I mean, super-maha.

So we - Jivi, Shalagram, and me - did. I cringed, pinched my nose, and stifled screams a little more than I wanted to, but by the time cars started to line the road for a quarter mile come Wednesday night, our house was cozy, clean, and smelled of sweet incense and kitri.

I believe spiritual life is a bit like that. We all need each other to clean up our acts. And that way, the temple of our heart can be clean for Krishna to come... and maybe sing some bhajans with us.

Finally buying a new camera, I busted out.






















You can also check out more photos of Alachua at:

Alachua pics

Our Kartik Nectar Series continues with a lecture from HH Radhanath Swami titled “Crying Our For The Mercy of The Holy Name”, spoken during the Vrindavana Yatra of 2004 at Maan Mandir.

Download Crying Out For The Mercy of The Holy Name-HH Radhanath Swami
Our Kartik Nectar Series continues with a lecture from HH Radhanath Swami titled "Crying Our For The Mercy of The Holy Name", spoken during the Vrindavana Yatra of 2004 at Maan Mandir.Download Crying Out For The Mercy of The Holy Name-HH Radhanath Swami

By Kalakantha dasa

After You steal butter, Your earrings dance and shine, as You flee Your mother in Gokula pastimes. Though you are all blissful, all knowing, ever-new. Greatest of controllers, Your mother controls You.

Sangita devi dasi: On Sunday, Novemember 4, 2007 at 10:45 am, Lalitamrita devi dasi, left this world surrounded by her caregivers, her husband, Gandiva dasa, Kaulini dasi, Sangita devi dasi, Annapurna dasi, and other dear friends from around the U. S. who came from far and wide to care for her in her final days.

This is my new favorite picture of Radhanath Swami. I didn't bring any of my pictures of Maharaj with me, and I was feeling like something was missing, so I changed the desktop of my computer to display this picture and it has made a big difference.

While we are on the topic of Radhanath Swami here are a few quotes to meditate on:

"If someone goes to a hospital and sees that the doctors and nurses are not even on speaking terms with one another, will they want to lay their lives down in their hands? Similarly people are frustrated. If they come and see that Krishna Consciousness works with harmony and peace, there is love and co-operation amongst devotees; people will think, yes, I trust them, this is what I want, I will hear what they say. But if they see that we have our own petty little conflicts, then they will think, what is the difference? What is the difference between this and everything I am reading about in the newspapers? So we have a great responsibility to co-operate with one another and the only way we could co-operate in this age of Kali, is to take Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's golden rule to heart- trnad api sunicena.. taror api sahisnuna. amanina manadena .. kirtaniyah sada harih.. To be more humble than a blade of grass; to be more tolerant than a tree; to offer all respect to others and to expect none in return and in this way chant the name of the Lord always. If we strive to live by this, the most important of all the instructions, we can live together peacefully. In that peaceful co-existence we can do great great things for this world."

"Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is teaching us how to aspire for trinadapi sunichena: to be humble like a straw in the street, tolerant like the tree in the street. What is its significance? No one cares for it, people step on it, spit on it, ultimately somebody sweeps it away but the straw on the streets remains very humble, let be more tolerant than the tree, ready to offer all respects to others and to expect none in return. These are the qualities that attract Krishna. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told Sanatana Goswami it is humility alone that pleases Krishna. Krishna does not care how much money you give Him, Krishna does not care how many beautiful offerings you give Him, Krishna does not care how artistically you dress Him, He does not care how profoundly you can speak His philosophy, He does not care how many delicious preparation you can make for Him in your kitchen, He cares for the humility with which it is being offered because it is this humility that gives flavor and pleasure to the service we are rendering."


"Due to egoism, everyone thinks, "I can judge others. I am right. You are wrong. If you stand between me and my aspirations of profit, adoration and distinction then you become my enemy." Where there is disunity amongst devotees; there cannot be proper sankirtan, we cannot chant together in the proper spirit to please Krsna, we cannot serve together. When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur saw his own devotees fighting amongst themselves, he was willing to sacrifice everything and anything he had, to bring about unity. Because he knew that unity alone would empower his movement to please Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu and thus fulfill His mission. For Srila Prabhupada also, that was the great worry. "Show your love for me by how you cooperate." This cooperation is not an ordinary material formula. You cannot cooperate unless you are really trying to follow the essence of Srila Prabhupada and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's teachings; without wearing this shloka trinad api sunicena, taror api sahishnuna, amanina manadena, kirtaniya sada Hari, around our necks, strung by the holy name, there can be no real cooperation."

"Common sense is 90% of our spiritual progress."

- Srila Prabhupada to Brahmananda Dasa in the 60's (told by Mahadevi Mataji ACBSP)

MSNBC: The problem is, death keeps looking at us. When I'm forced to think about this, what I see most clearly are the faces of patients at the moment they recognized the incredible fact that they were going to die soon.

After an intermission, Rohit Patel, head of fundraising incited a lot more interest from the main stage with his comments and humor. Then the Architect Selvapilla followed with more specifics of the building which his firm designed. His presentation was really first class, selling his own creation with humility and more humor.

Something to watch if you are in New Zealand Monday night...

A man is trapped in his car following a head-on collision with a truck; Advanced Paramedic Nick Scott responds to a Hare Krishna monk kicked in the head by an ungrateful cow; and a little girl chokes on a diamond ring.

The whole world is waiting for the solution to its problems. For example, there is such a bad drought in Australia (the worst in its history) that every four days on the average an Australian farmer is committing suicide. Some people argue that a simple solution is not possible or reasonable. But that is not true because there is in fact one root...

"How to Lower Your Self Esteem"

The other day I was listening to a lecture by His Holiness Jayadvaita Swami. He was talking about a course he teaches called "How to Lower Your Self Esteem".

He was taking a shot at pop self-help programs that are designed to raise your self-esteem. His lecture was entitled "Psychology 108" and was designed to counteract the influx of ideas from modern psychology into ISKCON.

Of course, modern psychology, like modern medicine, has some valid and valuable contributions to make, and we have to be careful to not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Fanatical rejection is the flip side of the coin of blind acceptance.

"High" and "Low" Self Esteem Both Miss the Point

I thought about this idea of "How to lower your self esteem". It's a catchy and clever rebuttal. However, I feel while it pushes back on an unwanted and misleading intrusion, in a sense it misses or obscures an important point.

The goal is not to necessarily raise or lower your self-esteem. Nor is the goal to have either "high" or "low" self-esteem. The goal is to have accurate self-esteem.

Self-esteem means "self-estimation". It means your ability to accurately assess yourself in terms of your strengths and weaknesses, abilities and inabilities, and your standing relative to the environment and others within it.

Self-esteem, or self-estimation, is part of sambandha-jnana.

An estimation that is either too high or too low is unrealistic. Sun Tzu explains in his Art of War that by knowing yourself and knowing your enemy you will not face defeat in a hundred battles.

Overestimation leads to defeat, and so does "underestimation"

An unrealistic assessment of yourself leads to defeat. Look at what happened to both Brahma and Indra. They did not have a realistic assessment of themselves relative to Krishna. They overestimated themselves. This is commonly called pride. What it is, in a strictly technical sense, devoid of emotional judgment, is an overestimation of one's ability relative to others.

The symptom or outcome of this is an inability to appreciate the ability and relative superiority of others.

An estimation that is too low can sometime disguise an overestimation, cloaking it in a veneer of "humility".

Underestimation, or "low self esteem" is often a secret resentment that others don't recognize you for the greatness that you are secretly sure you have. It's overestimation that refuses to bow to reality.

Some thoughts and observations

I'm working on the follow-up to "On Leadership" in my spare time (not much of that lately), focused on self-leadership and putting the principles of "On Leadership" into practice. Here are some excerpts from that, that speak to these points:

The first thing you have to do is to get real, as real as you can get, and keep getting more and more real.

The fundamental quality of a leader, and a fundamental factor in personal success and effective execution of leadership is realism. To be realistic in the context of the purpose of leadership means to understand things as they are; essentially to understand the relationship between three things – ourselves, this world, and the Supreme Lord. To be realistic in the context of the practice of leadership means to be able to accurately measure things.

Sometimes people criticize devotees for being pessimistic about material life. Go to a party and drop the line: “We're all going to die,” and watch the faces fall. However, that's a fact. Whereas a pessimist sees the glass of material life as half empty, and an optimist sees it as half full, a realist sees the reality of a glass tipped up and emptying out.

You are not a fatalist. As a leader you are travelling towards a better future, and you are taking others there with you. In this sense some might think of you as optimistic. However, you are not at all blind to the present realities. That's what distinguishes an effective leader from a dreamer. Most people lose their nerve when they understand the full import of their situation. You don't. You don't rely on hiding your head in the sand to maintain your morale, neither do you waste time wallowing in all that is wrong with the world. You need to see things as they are in order to make the right decisions. You may feel the fear, but you do it anyway. That's what distinguishes an effective leader from a whiner.

Basically there are two things that you will be measuring – yourself, and the environment. To be effective you have to accurately measure yourself, accurately measure the environment, and then match the two up.

...

There is a famous story involving Srila Prabhupada and one leader in ISKCON.

Srila Prabhupada, wanting to help this leader deal with pride that had crept in, began to describe to him that the material world represents a covered portion of one small corner of the spiritual sky. Into this covered portion the Lord expands as Karanodaksayi Visnu. He lays down in the Causal Ocean at the bottom of the material world and millions of universes emanate from the pores of His skin as he breathes out. He expands Himself into each and every one of these universes as Garbhodaksayi Visnu. In even the smallest of these universes there millions of planets and stars. Among these millions of stars and planets is one planet with millions of people living in cities. In one of those cities there are so many thousands of buildings. In one of those buildings is (the leader he was speaking to), and he is thinking he is very important.

Don't try to be humble, just get real.

The other day a devotee approached me for some advice. While he was describing his situation to me he said: “I have no good qualities”.

“Yes you do,” I replied. “You have some good qualities and some not good qualities, just like everyone else. You have to be realistic about your situation – that will enable you to deal with it intelligently and effectively.”

Once a devotee fell down at Srila Prabhupada's feet and cried out: “Oh Srila Prabhupada, I am the most fallen!” Srila Prabhupada responded with the humorous dismissal: “You're not the most anything!”

“But in His Siksastakam Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu says that we should be more humble than a blade of grass!” I hear you say. If there is one thing that we can say about a blade of grass, it's that it is realistic. Have you ever seen a blade of grass with an unrealistic assessment of itself and the environment? A blade of grass is exemplary in knowing its place and its purpose. Overestimating yourself is commonly known as pride. Underestimating yourself is the other side of the same counterfeit coin of unrealism. Don't waste your time trying to imitate a blade of grass, instead follow its example – get real.

Personalities such as Krishnadas Kaviraj and Jiva Goswami have described themselves in very lowly terms. Is this a symptom of their humility? An "unrealistic" assessment of their standing? No, it's a symptom of their reality. Jiva Goswami is a jiva, without Krisha he is nothing - and he knows it. That's reality. As Arjuna found when Krishna left, his Gandhiva bow became impotent in his hand.

Whatever good qualities are there in the jiva are due to association with the reservoir of all good qualities, Sri Krishna. Although the jiva has some inherent qualities due to being of the nature of Brahman, still because of its infinitesimal nature it will be overcome by the illusory energy Maya, if it does not have the shelter of Krishna's internal energy.

So where does that leave us? One devotee accused me of belonging to the group that wanted to drag Srila Gaurakishor das Babaji's body through the streets because he had expressed that desire.

The fact is that these personalities, with a realisitic assessment of their situation, are far beyond me, because they have a realistic assessment of their situation. I have an intermittent theoretical appreciation, but in practice I am unable to hold on to the consciousness of my real situation. A lowly worm in stool does not have any false pretenses, but I do. That makes me lower than a worm in stool in terms of realistic assessment of myself. Unfortunately, I can't even appreciate that.

In a rare moment of clarity I offer my humble obeisances to the lotus feet of Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj for his realistic assessment of our predicament and the clarity of his consciousness.

Perhaps due to my hunger to my mother language, while I was in Istanbul, I spent quite some time in bookstores and found some nice books. Now I am reading, rather looking frequently to one of them; Funny Weather. This book is not the kind of book that we’ve got accustomed to… Both its subject matter’s urgency in our lives and also its being a comic book makes a difference. If you also have hard time reading serious long texts like me, this book is exactly for you! And I think, it is much more effective and heart taking then a typical production.

One evening, lying tired on the sofa, I took the book in my hand. I dived into thoughts after looking at the first dialogue I came across. I FeeeEELLL… down on top of my head on the cold bottom of the deep well… it felt something like this and hurt. To my luck, my husband was next to me, we were able to talk long and I came to myself slowly.

What was I seeing?

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...both blind following and absurd inquiries are condemned...

- Srila Prabhupada

Srimad Bhagavatam 10.70.25 - How to get freed from the fear of material existence.

Winding 1,560 miles across northern India, from the Himalaya Mountains to the Indian Ocean, the Ganges River is not a sacred place: it is a sacred entity. Known as Ganga Ma — Mother Ganges — the river is revered as a goddess whose purity cleanses the sins of the faithful and aids the dead on their path toward heaven.

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