Want to attract birds to your garden? Then plan your menu, says the RSPB…

Tearing up crispy slices of toast and stale old crusts, spreading them out on the garden bird table then watching from the kitchen window as, one by one, a small feathery flock swoops in to peck and gulp, has always seemed a thrifty and altruistic pleasure.

Now, though, experts say that far from nourishing them, feeding bread to birds could do more damage than good.

“Bread doesn’t contain any of the vital ingredients birds need to breed and feed,” explains Val Osborne, head of wildlife enquiries at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). But they still fill up on it, then fail to eat food that would provide them with the nutrition they need to survive.

Blue tits aren’t able to digest lactose and drinking milk can give

But while tossing scraps of bread to quacking ducks at the pond may no longer be considered a kindness, the good news is that there are plenty of household leftovers, from uncooked pastry to porridge oats, that you can still donate to your neighbourhood birds in good conscience. Indeed, for some birds, these scraps are an invaluable lifeline.

“We have seen a lot more goldfinches in gardens in the past year,” says Gemma Rogers of the RSPB, “and that’s largely to do with the fact that more people are putting out food.

“There’s no denying that we have a part to play in their well-being. The birds are really busy at the moment, constantly flying back and forth feeding their young, and they need energy.And during deepest winter when they can’t forage as easily, feeding them can make the difference between life and death.”

Sunflower seeds, leftover cake, jacket potatoes, millet, pinhead oatmeal, peanuts (as long as they are not salted or dry-roasted) and animal fats can all safely be given to birds.

“Don’t give them anything with added salt,” says Rogers, who adds that birds are also partial to a bit of cheese.

What sort? Camembert, cheddar, or do they prefer a nice piece of Stilton?

“I don’t think they mind, though it’s probably best if it’s a mild-flavoured cheese.

“The important thing is that it’s grated or torn into small pieces, because the birds are feeding their chicks at this time of year and they will struggle to swallow large chunks.”

What food you put out will also make a difference to the type of birds you attract. If you’d like to see the sleek inky plumage and hear the melodic song of the blackbird in your garden, it will help to put out some apple. Starlings and great tits, on the other hand, will flap hungrily to a stash of peanuts.

Of course, you can’t magic a bird out of thin air even with a pile of tempting food. But you can encourage species already in the vicinity into your garden and help them to breed by providing a steady food supply.

Any of the mesh feeders you can buy in shops are suitable to hang from a bird table or wall. Some are even contained inside a gnaw-proof metal cage to make them squirrel-proof, ensuring that the food you put in it will reach the right mouths.

A bird table with a rim, so that food doesn’t fall off it, and a drain so that it doesn’t become water-logged are also advised and, again, if squirrels are a pest you could fix an upside-down biscuit tin to the top of the post to prevent them clambering on to the table.

“Don’t leave food out for ages, because that’s asking for rats,” warns Rogers. “And don’t put too much out at once. Birds are like us - they don’t like old, mouldy food.

“The biggest mistake people make is to think birds are dustbins. They’re not. They can be quite fussy.”

Finally, a supply of water to drink and bathe in is always welcome, particularly in the summer months.

FEEDING THE BIRDS

Different birds have different tastes. Here’s how to attract some of your favourites species.

BLACKBIRDS

These popular garden warblers are keen on chopped-up apple; ground mix (a special bird food mixture containing sunflower kernels, raisins, sultanas, husk-free oats and flaked maize) which can be spread either on the bird table or directly on the ground.

BLUE TIT AND GREAT TIT

In the days of milk deliveries, the brightly coloured blue tit was often seen perching on the rim of a milk bottle, pecking at the foil top to get to the creamy milk beneath.

Little did the birds know, but this wasn’t a great move: blue tits aren’t able to digest lactose and drinking milk can give them diarrhoea.

Blue tits are particularly hungry - the average family eats 10,000 invertebrates before the chicks leave - but they can safely eat whole unsalted peanuts, peanut cake and sunflower hearts (husk-free sunflower seeds). Anything with fat in it is also good.

BLACKCAP

Named for the dark head feathers that make it look as if it has been turned upside down and dipped in a bottle of ink, this summer visitor is praised for its ‘full, sweet, deep and loud pipe’.

It thrives on peanut cake and fruit such as over-ripe strawberries or windfall apples.

ROBINS

The robin redbreast (along with song thrushes and dunnocks) loves grated cheese. Sunflower kernels are also advised if you want to attract this cheery bird to your garden.

GOLDFINCH

Oil-rich nyjer seed, otherwise known as thistle seed, is a magnet for goldfinches as well as redpolls and siskins.

Because it is very tiny, it needs a special kind of feeder so as not to slip out.

Gemma Rogers says: “Goldfinches are also drawn by teasels and thistles, which are becoming more common now that people no longer trim their lawns to within an inch of their lives.”

WRENS

“Wrens are ground-feeding birds and they like to forage,” says Rogers, “so it’s good to put food out for them in lower areas. They are one of the birds that seem to like cheese.”

They also adore crushed or grated peanuts.

COLLARED DOVE

Like pigeons and pheasants, doves feed on the ground, often in large and intimidating flocks (which puts off smaller birds, so beware). They like eating wheat and barley grains, and are partial to seed mixes.

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER

A rare sight these days: according to Mark Cocker’s Birds Britannica, there are only 27,000 pairs of this strikingly patterned bird spread across the country.

However, sightings have increased thanks to their liking for peanuts, often left out in bird-feeders.

They will also eat fatty food, particularly if it is smeared on tree trunks.

Madhava in Mayapur takes on the golden complexion of Srimati Radharani…

Every day in Mayapur during Candan-yatra, Madhava sports a different color of candan. Expertly applied by pujari Kurma Caitanya prabhu, Madhava’s candan antics have become the delight of the residents of Mayapur, who eagerly await the opening of the curtains at daily darshan to see what mood He is sporting today. It brings to life Maharaja’s podcast entitled “The Colors of Prema” in January of this year (click here to listen).

Yesterday’s was the most stunning yet: a golden-complexioned Madhava drew cheers of joy from devotees, and His rainbow outfit was reflected on His legs and arms. Traditionally, Madhava’s flirt with color candan has been reserved for the final day, when He appears in His blue form. But this year Kurma Caitanya prabhu has dazzled everyone daily with his inspired expertise.

And, as usual, Nrsimhadeva’s smile grows wider and wider daily, culminating in the blissful abhiseka on Nrsimha-caturdasi…

Continuing the topic of Brahma’s manifestation from Canto 3:

• The supreme transcendence is present in matter, but unattainable through material consciousness.
• A change of consciousness is required if we are to perceive Krishna.
• When our consciousness is no longer inhibited by contact with matter, we will see the fully manifest form of transcendence.
• It requires a proper methodology to invoke the transcendental potency–that’s what the Krishna conscious process is.
• Spiritual subject matters only work through revelation; they cannot be conquered by an inferior material potency.

(picture credit: cow, nuke)

The cow today is like a nuclear bomb. It is the new holocaust, threatening to destroy us all.

In the United States alone every year 10 billion animals are killed for food. If you lined them all up that they would reach to the moon and back five times! With that many living entities being killed there is simply no way that they can be treated ethically. Doing so also results in second highest contribution to global warming in the world (after energy production, but ahead of transportation and residences).

In this excellent presentation at the TED conference Mark Bittman reenforces much of what I talked about in the King Corn post. It is a really compelling presentation on the importance of local food (Locavore = person who only eats local food; is the new word of year), importance of eating organic food (although it isn’t a cure-all) and the importance of eating less meat, less junk and more plants (eating plants is what makes us healthy).

He also talks a bit about the history of food. About how we got into the sorry state of far too much meat-eating we are in today.

Here is the video of the talk (much recommended!)

This Sunday, the Hare Krishna Temple will be celebrating Nrsimha Caturdasi, the appearance day of the half-lion, half-man incarnation of Lord Krishna during our weekly Sunday Feast. Festivities will begin at 6:00 pm and will include kirtan (jubilant spiritual chants), a grand abhishek (Vedic bathing ceremony) and wonderful prasadam (vegetarian feast). We are happy to welcome a very special guest, H.G. Atmarama Das, a renowned musician who will enthrall everyone with his wonderful guitar-accompanied kirtan during our celebrations. There will also be a special presentation during the program in honour of this special occasion of the appearance of Lord Nrsimha!

Festival Schedule to be posted soon!

Please join us at the Hare Krishna Temple to take part in the festivities this weekend! If you have any questions and/or comments, please feel free to write to us at toronto@pamho.net.

He doesn't go far enough from the spiritual perspective but his comparison of eating meat to nuclear holocaust is pretty compelling.

The simple truth is that our civilization is on the brink of destroying itself, and unless alot of people make some serious changes we are going to be in some serious trouble.

The other consequence of animal slaughter that Bittman didn't discuss was the social consequences of such genocide.

Gorge Bernard Shaw summed it up nicely,

"We are the living graves of murdered beasts,
Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread.
We're sick of war,we do not want to fight-
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread,
And yet - we gorge ourselves upon the dead.

Like carrion crows, we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and pain
We cause by doing so, if thus we treat
Defenceless animals for sport or gain,
How can we hope in this world to attain
The PEACE we say we are so anxious for.
We pray for it, o'er hecatombs of slain,
To God, while outraging the moral law
Thus cruelty begets its offspring - WAR"

Ez a legtermészetesebb kérdés, korunkban mégsincs bátorítva és megválaszolva. 2/2. rész.

Lecke a Srimad Bhagavatam 3.8.18. verséről 2008. május. 14-én Kecskeméten. 2/2. rész.

• Ha megfelelő lemondásokat végzünk, könnyen választ kaphatunk az élet nagy kérdéseire.
• Úgy tudjuk megoldani a valódi problémáinkat, ha menedékre lelünk a valódi anyánknál és a valódi apánknál.
• A modern tudománnyal egy részét tudjuk meg a valóságnak, a teljes kép ezzel a módszerrel nem érthető meg.
• Mit jelent egy vaisnava számára a szülőhazája?
• A kudarcok megszabadítanak a félreértéseinktől?

Seven devotee children celebrated a special day of their own in Germany with twenty of their school friends and their friends' family members on a Sunday in May at Goloka-dhama, in Abentheuer. The event was organized so that the devotee children could have a Vedic version of their Catholic friends' First Communion ceremony.

Krsna and Balarama continued to watch as the calves ate grass and drank water. Krsna approached one calf, massaged the calf's face and limbs, hugged the calf, and said in the calf's ear, "Do you want to go to your mother?

Seven devotee children celebrated a special day of their own in Germany with twenty of their school friends and their friends' family members on a Sunday in May at Goloka-dhama, in Abentheuer. The event was organized so that the devotee children could have a Vedic version of their Catholic friends' First Communion ceremony.

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In today's culture war pitting secularism versus religion, Eastern religions usually get a free pass from atheist authors and other foes of faith. But that doesn't mean that Hindus can afford to rest on their laurels. Several new books from Hindu experts and advocates seek to dispel misconceptions, including negative ones, about the ancient Indian tradition.

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GBC Resolution 311 is a watershed in ISKCON history. The resolution — to annotate and "explain" Srila Prabhupada's books — is an attempt to redefine the constitutional structure of ISKCON. Whether intended or not, Resolution 311 changes the established relationships and power balance between individuals, managerial authorities (such as temple presidents and the GBC), the Founder Acarya Srila Prabhupada, and his teachings.

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Madhava Gosh's piece on annotations got taken to pieces by Pandu [1 and 2] when it appeared on Dandavats.com in the context of the resolution 311 conversation.

Gosh prabhu starts off his piece by admitting that he hasn't even read the resolution under discussion, so it wasn't hard for Pandu to go from there and take it apart. Gosh caught me with my pants down though, after I commented on his piece when it originally appeared on his blog - without reading it myself. hahahaha, ironic eh? :-)

Luckily Gosh is a liberal Vaisnava and gave me the benefit of the doubt:

Perhaps you were speed reading and assumed...

If he'd been a conservative I might have been in trouble. ;-)

Madhava Gosh prabhu's piece is good for what it is, but a solid philosophical justification or defense of resolution 311 it is not. We're still waiting for something more substantial in that area.

On the contrary, opined my revered God-brother Kripamoya. He reasoned that my breakfasts would probably be an interesting topic. I told him what I had, and he was impressed.

So in the spirit of freedom of information, here is what I cooked today, on the Holy day of Sri Ekadasi.

The menu: Chat potatoes and butternut squash, roasted in Greek rigani-pepper-and-nutmeg-infused olive oil, with a salad of baby cos lettuce, cottage cheese, oven roasted red peppers, cashews, pan-toasted haloumi cheese, avocado, pomegranate, tomato wedges, garden-fresh parsley & Vietnamese mint in a lime and extra-virgin olive oil dressing.

At first I was repulsed by this “Open Letter to Bhakti Vikasa Swami,” but then I remembered that liberal women hating brahmacaris is nothing new.

Personally, I appreciate Caitanya prabhu’s writing on his Hare Krishna Diary, and look forward to new entries.  Fourteen years ago, before I found Srila Prabhupada’s books, I would have thoroughly agreed with Lalita Madhava d.d., but the understanding of Vaishnava culture that I developed from reading Srila Prabhupada’s books has brought my understanding of women closer to Caitany prabhu’s than to mother Lalita Madhava’s.

It’s not about hating women.  I have a great wife and four daughters, and I love them all.  I love and appreciate many women, in an appropriate way.  Unfortunately I am still plagued by lust, but I don’t blame women for that.  It is my ordeal to overcome, and Krishna specifically directed me to a very suitable wife to help me overcome that lust so that I can eventually become enlivened in Krishna consciousness.  Our objection is with feminists, who deride motherhood, abandon their prescribed duties, divorce their husbands, and are eager to fight for the right to slaughter the babies who take shelter in their wombs.

Consider this recent article published on Huffington Post, which says that about 1/3 of 30,000 married women who responded to a survey admitted to cheating on their husbands, having sex with other men.   As the authors of the article  jovially describe it, “Yep, lots of mommies are getting action on the side.”  Does mother Lalita Madhava approve of that kind of behavior?  That is an example of what Caitanya prabhu is condemning.
Respectable, Vaishnavi women are always appreciated.

Hare Krishna.

Further to Richard Dawkins vs Al-Khattab, one work colleague gave his analysis to me today (speaking of Al-Khattab):

He's living in an adolescent power fantasy. He's full of hormones and afraid of women because he thinks they are like him. In another setting he'd be a Superman fan-boy. He'd be a geek sitting in a basement arguing online about whether Superman can beat up Thor. Same dynamic, different story. This one has more street cred because there are people running around with real guns, otherwise it's essentially the same thing.

This gives you some idea of how a contemporary western audience perceives this kind of proselytizing.

Commenting on this… (link)
Dear Madhava Gosh prabhu,

Hare Krishna.  Are you seriously comparing Shakespeare’s writing to Srila Prabhupada’s?   Apart from the major difference that one was an ordinary (not Vaishnava) playwright whereas the other is your spiritual master and the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, there are too many substantial differences to list.  Srila Prabhupada wrote his books only about 35 years ago.  The proposed annotations have nothing to do with the use of archaic words; they seem intent upon portraying many of Srila Prabhupada’s views as archaic.  Perhaps if you read the few paragraphs you’re writing about, that would be apparent.

If someone gives a Srimad Bhagavatam class, that is an oral commentary presumably in support of the writing.  Vastly different, at least to me and several devotees I’ve heard from, is adding written commentary within Srila Prabhupada’s books, especially if that commentary undermines what Srila Prabhupada wrote.  That seems to be the plan.  I would love to know what discussion went into the proposal, along with whatever evidence was presented from Srila Prabhupada’s books to support each side of the argument.  I think we deserve to know what went into this.  I can’t really relate to your indifference, not even reading the resolution.  To many of us this is a very big deal.  And, yes, I did know what ‘annotation’ meant, even before reading your article; and I believe the other opponents to this resolution did as well.

I also want to point out that your example using the word “gay” contradicts your presentation.  Even without scholars annotating the song, I don’t know of anyone who confuses the meaning.  Beyond that, your prediction that Srila Prabhupada’s books will need annotation within the coming centuries seems to presume that these books will have little effect on the world.  Otherwise, if Srila Prabhupada’s books capture the attention of the world the way they have attracted many of us, then their meaning would naturally remain clear due to their dictation of Vaishnava culture to the world.  Shakespeare was not developing a worldwide movement; he was merely writing plays for entertainment.

It reminds me more of how the Christians found the command, “Thou shall not kill,” to be inconvenient, so they added notes saying the original word meant “murder,” rather than “kill,” and eventually the new ones just say “Thou shall not murder.”  Srila Prabhupada often called such cheaters “rascals.”  Lets’ not give him reason to call us that.

This is Dawkins at his finest. A flawless victory without a doubt. The crowd gives him a wild ovation after a 70 second response to "the simplest question" from an audience member at Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The question is: "What if you're wrong?"

Dawkins delivers his stunning oratorial tour de force by enveloping the question using a rhetorical cultural relativity argument that sweeps his opponents legs from under her. Again he wraps his opponent in a metanarrative. He doesn't address the question itself, but rather goes on the offensive, and attacks the questioner and their frame of reference.

This is a prime example of Dawkins at his best - he is playing to a live audience of the public. Remember that he is the sitting chair for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He is a populist orator. He knows how to play to the crowd, and this crowd of Americans cheers him on like he were Hulk Hogan and this were a Friday night Smackdown at the WWE.

In a previous post I explained that a scriptural tradition that is not accepted by another will be interpreted by them as cultural tradition. Dawkins plays to this to present any religious belief as cultural conditioning. He is also playing to the audience's fear of religious fanaticism. This is where religious and cultural groups violently proselytize on the basis of "I am right. You are wrong."

This is a recurrent theme in Dawkins' work, and one that strikes a chord with his global audience. He uses this sympathy to push his own agenda of atheistic science as the answer.

Classical Krishna Conscious preaching, and in fact the Vedic method of harmonization and assimilation rather than cultural negation, more closely maps to Dawkins' method than to the exclusive proselytizing of many contemporary religions.

Consider this excerpt from a classic speech by His Holiness Visnujana Maharaja, delivered in Portland, Oregon, in 1975 (the event that is the opening scene of Radha-Damodara Vilasa):

So this is the warm invitation of Krishna Consciousness. It has nothing to do with black or white, young or old, or believe me, Christian or Jew or Hindu or anything like that. We consider these to be as much a part of false ego—Christian, Hindu, Jew—as we do black, white, young, old, man or woman. Because they were delegated to this body—I'm born in a Christian family, I call myself a Christian; I'm born in a Hindu family, I call myself a Hindu—so because of this body I'm a Hindu, because of this body I'm a Jew, and if I was born a million years ago would I be a Hindu, Christian or Jew? No. But I'd still be a servant, I'd still have my consciousness. See? Suppose you're born a hundred thousand years from now? Are you going to be a Christian or a Hindu or a Jew? No. But you'll still have your consciousness, you'll still have to serve, and you'll still want to be happy.

Visnujana Maharaja uses exactly the same argument that Dawkins does. We have more in common with Dawkins than may be apparent on the surface.

Dawkins uses the cultural relativity argument to dismiss the question. Another example of this tactic in play is when a person said to Srila Prabhupada: "There are so many paths..."

Srila Prabhupada replied to him: "So you choose one, and follow it."

This is a good response. However, it requires an additional layer to deal with the contemporary concern about religious extremism and inability to coexist with other understandings. Dawkins always chooses the most extreme examples to underscore his point.

The other thing he brings into play is the Flying Spaghetti Monster [wikipedia entry]. You should be familiar with this. It is a satirical story used to present the argument that if creationists are allowed to demand that their story be taught in schools with no evidence to support it, then any old story should be allowed.

Underlying this is a dismissal of scripture as pramana (valid evidence), and the presenting of empiric evidence as the only valid and acceptable pramana. This trend has been accelerated in modern cultures due to the clash of cultures with different scriptures, with different and sometimes contradictory cultural prescriptions. As most people can only evaluate things on a cultural basis, especially if they have not studied the scripture in depth, they see only confusion and contradiction as a result.

Dawkins throws this into the mix, as his audience are already familiar with it. He doesn't need to explain it, he just draws on it as an argument by the previous acaryas that supports his position.

Key Points:

• You don't have to speak to the question, you have to speak to the concerns of the audience
• Again, you win by winning the audience, not by defeating your opponent
• Know your audience's frame of reference. By throwing in "the Flying Spaghetti Monster" Dawkins establishes a rapport with them and at the same time draws extensive context and argument support into his 70 second speech, with only a few words
• Show how Krishna Consciousness simultaneously transcends and unites all religions to address the concerns of contemporary Western audiences
• Whatever you do, don't allow yourself to be cornered on cultural relativity. Srila Prabhupada, when explaining the dress of devotees would talk about its utilitarian value in helping them to identify themselves to the public, and reinforce their own sense of self identity. In the same way, be able to justify and explain cultural elements of Krishna Consciousness on a rational basis

The Pope’s chief astronomer says that life on Mars cannot be ruled out.

Writing in the Vatican newspaper, the astronomer, Father Gabriel Funes, said intelligent beings created by God could exist in outer space.

Father Funes, director of the Vatican Observatory near Rome, is a respected scientist who collaborates with universities around the world.

The search for forms of extraterrestrial life, he says, does not contradict belief in God.

The official Vatican newspaper headlines his article ‘Aliens Are My Brother’.

‘Free from sin’

Just as there are multiple forms of life on earth, so there could exist intelligent beings in outer space created by God. And some aliens could even be free from original sin, he speculates.

Asked about the Catholic Church’s condemnation four centuries ago of the Italian astronomer and physicist, Galileo, Father Funes diplomatically says mistakes were made, but it is time to turn the page and look towards the future.

Science and religion need each other, and many astronomers believe in God, he assures readers.

To strengthen its scientific credentials, the Vatican is organising a conference next year to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the author of the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin.

Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

- Anon

View a video podcast discussing "the power to annotate"

I would like to see reports coming out of the GBC meetings that include such details as how many books are being distributed in each GBC zone, how many devotees are going out on harinam, and how many initiated devotees have actually read the 4th canto, and what is being done to increase these three figures.

I would like to see GBC leaders taking time to meet with local leaders in their zones and sharing their expertise and experience to increase effectiveness at a local level.

Authority in any organization is related to influence. Especially in a volunteer organization like ISKCON, this is effectively all that authority is. If no-one follows you, you're not leading.

When you make calls you need to be aware of how much influence you have, and if the call you are making will exceed that influence.

For example, there is the famous example of Srila Prabhupada approving a disciple's request to divorce and remarry. Srila Prabhupada's secretary, to whom he had dictated the letter, Harikesa prabhu, was puzzled by this and asked Prabhupada why he said "yes" when he had given so many instructions saying that divorce was not allowed. Srila Prabhupada replied that he knew that the disciple would do it anyway. Rather than lose the disciple completely by forcing him into a situation where he would have to disobey a direct order, Srila Prabhupada instead chose to preserve the relationship by not trying to transmit more force across it than it could sustain. In this way he continued to build influence with him and guide him forward from where he was.

Srila Prabhupada was expert in adjusting to the situation without compromising the principles. I don't have sufficient confidence that the current leadership has the same level of expertise to agree to them inserting commentary into Srila Prabhupada's books.

I said in an earlier comment, banned on Dandavats.com, that if the GBC has fully calculated the effects of resolution 311 they have said: "Yeah, some people aren't going to like it, but too bad for them. We can afford to lose those guys, and the positive outcomes in the long run will offset the short term losses. Press the go button."

I can appreciate that, from a ksatriya managerial perspective. Those are the kind of decisions that you make when you're in charge. No-one will agree with everything you do, and you have to do something.

However, I am very worried, because I don't think that they have properly calculated the impact and consequences of resolution 311 and its introduction.

If I were at the helm, or advising those at the helm on this issue, I would have position papers by Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, Prahladananda Swami, Jayadvaita Swami and others flooding out right now to swamp the society. I would also include samsaya (doubt) and purva-paksa (opposing argument) papers to show that it had been robustly considered, and to preempt opposition. Nothing like arguing the case against yourself more powerfully than anyone else... and then defeating it. In fact, that's our brahminical tradition.

This would achieve a number of effects:

1. It would not create a thought leadership vaccuum for persons like Sita-pati and Krishna-kirti to step into.
2. It would give talking points to pro-resolution 311 thought leaders at a local level, who could then retransmit and expand on the arguments and justifications given (that would have been me in a parallel universe, or on another issue where I actually agreed with the principle).
3. It would demonstrate to the non-brahminical membership that there is brahminical leadership in this area, even if they don't understand the issues and arguments.
4. It would give brahminical members something to consider, something to follow, and something to pitch their position against if they disagree.

Brahmanas do not follow orders. They follow explanations. ISKCON is supposed to be a society primarily of brahmanas. It requires brahminical leadership.

Instead we have only Praghosa prabhu's brief foray into a soon-aborted comments thread on Dandavats.com, comments from pro-resolution 311 devotees who personally don't like what Srila Prabhupada says in his books and seem unaware of the wider ramifications of bringing into creation "the power to annotate", and a podcast by GBC member His Holiness Sivarama Swami ["Rape and editing"] which is far from unqualified support for the measure.

That this brahminical leadership is missing in the form of resolution of 311 reinforces the conclusion that in its content it is similarly unqualified.

When the position papers come out I'll have something to consider. In the meantime, I'm just at a loose end.

So why has Sita-pati gone from "GBC apologist" to lecturing the GBC? It exceeded its authority (influence) with me by issuing this resolution in this way.

A predictable outcome.

View a video podcast discussing "the power to annotate"

In his Vedanta-sutra Srila Vyasadeva has described that everything is but a transformation of the energy of the Lord. Sankaracarya, however, has misled the world by commenting that Vyasadeva was mistaken. Thus he has raised great opposition to theism throughout the entire world.

- Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi-lila 7.121

If you introduce a commentary into Srila Prabhupada's books culturally relativizing his statements, then you run the very real risk of diminishing people's faith in his words. Do not subject Srila Prabhupada to a meta-analysis in his own book. It is disrespectful.

Introducing this commentary will not increase the faith of those who have no faith in Srila Prabhupada, and it will have the effect of diminishing the loyalty to the GBC of those who do have strong faith in Srila Prabhupada.

You write another contemporary book and create faith in people through your preaching. Then when they have faith in you, they will have faith in the one in whom you have faith - that is service to Srila Prabhupada.

If you do not have potency to do this, then what is the question of having the spiritual potency to comment inside Srila Prabhupada's own book?

The simple message is this: I do not accept the GBC on the same level as Srila Prabhupada. I know that Srila Prabhupada is qualified to write in his book. To put it liberally: I don't know if anyone else is. I prefer for those who "know better" how to make a relevant contemporary presentation to demonstrate their spiritual prowess with their own book. That is honest, and protects Srila Prabhupada's legacy - which is the job of the GBC.

The GBC has left a brahminical thought vaccuum around resolution 311. This does not inspire confidence that this resolution has the potency to pull itself off. Although it is not spelled out in the resolution, resolution 311 is justified on the basis of its effects and the ability of those proposing it to judge potential future effects, rather than scriptural injunction. Given this, the lack of finesse in effecting an introduction to the society, one flanked with significant brahminical support (something a little more significant than republishing a random blog post from Madhava Ghosh prabhu on Dandavats.com), further undermines that resolution 311 has the qualification to do what it wants to.

Why has Sita-pati, who is usually being bashed by the conservatives as a liberal and by the disenfranchised as an ISKCON/GBC apologist, suddenly had to reveal the steel hand within the velvet glove and come out as an arch-conservative? Because this resolution and the way it has been enacted has hit me directly in the heart. That's inexpert, and seems to have been an unforeseen consequence of this resolution. I wonder what other unforeseen consequences are in store? Hard to say what consequences have or haven't been pre-seen, because there is no thus far no brahminical support for resolution 311. If it does exist, it isn't available to the members of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.

It's hard to accept that this is the kind of brahminical leadership that is qualified to comment inside Srila Prabhupada's books.

Just as Romaharsana's disqualifications were not discussed until he exceeded his authority, this resolution brings to the forefront the previous examples that show that the GBC is not on the same level as Srila Prabhupada.

A predictable outcome.

Yoke, my Perth-based baking guru and friend, first introduced me to the wonders of sourdough in one of her fabulous breadmaking classes. She kindly gave me a small container of ancient sourdough starter which I lovingly looked after and fed daily.

Before packing up in Perth, I gave away portions of culture to other bread fans, and kept a small container for myself. When I flew to Sydney early this year, I brought with me (in my hand luggage) that small packet of frozen starter, the magic ingredient that yields all sourdough desires.

The man on the x-ray machine did a second check on his screen, but didn't bother to ask me what it was; not that it's illegal to carry frozen bread culture, I am sure. I would have been quite happy to show him, though it was wrapped in multi layers of paper to avoid it growing and taking over the whole plane ['flight deck to ground control, we have a problem...']

It lay asleep in my freezer until a few weeks ago when I transferred it to a larger container and thawed it out, giving it a big feed of flour and water after its long hibernation. Boy, was it hungry!

That's a bit of history. Anyway, here's some step-by-step photos of my breadmaking adventure yesterday. The photos are actually from my Perth breadmaking days, but since the steps were the same, and the results looked identical, there was no need to shoot more pics.

That delectable-looking brown substance above is my sourdough starter. It has a rich, fragrant, sour aroma, and will now sit submissively in my fridge between bakes.

I combined flour, starter and water. I left the dough (above) in a plastic sealed container for 10 hours until doubled in size in a cool place.

Nice big holes in the spongy risen dough are a sign that all is well in sourdough land.

These are great bread tins, by the way. They have an actual tin lining.

I divided the dough (since I always make enough for two loaves) without expressing too much air. No punching down with sourdough bread!

The dough was lowered into the tins. Some air was naturally expressed in the transfer, so I waited another 6 hours for the dough to double again.

And so it sat, while I did other things. I forgot to photograph the dough just before I baked it, but it was well-doubled, and approached the top of the tins.

I baked the bread, then I turned off the oven but left the tins in for another 10 minutes.

And here's the result. I tapped the bottom of the loaves, and enjoyed that reassuring hollow sound that only fully-baked breads make.

Look at those lovely holes! The bread was wonderfully moist, with a complex, appetizing depth of flavour, and that bouncy, slightly chewy texture that classic sourdough bread offers. And just four ingredients: flour, water, starter and salt. No oil, no chemicals, no yeast, no preservatives, no raising agents - nothing. Just loads of love, and patience.

My father, a bit of a bread connoisseur, was hooked on it after one bite. And I just can't get enough of it. Once you taste good homemade sourdough bread, you can never go back to eating the yeasted variety again. Long live sourdough!

nama cintamani-rupam
namaiva parama gatih
namnah parataram nasti
tasman nama upasmahe

"The Holy Name is a beautiful transcendental touchstone - it is the supreme goal. There is nothing higher than the Holy Name. I therefore worship the Holy Name."

Ez a legtermészetesebb kérdés, korunkban mégsincs bátorítva és megválaszolva.

Lecke a Srimad Bhagavatam 3.8.18. verséről 2008. május. 14-én Kecskeméten. 2/1. rész.

• “Az Úr Brahma tudatlanságában így elmélkedett: Ki vagyok én, aki itt ülök ennek a lótusznak a tetején? Honnan nőtt ez a virág? Kell lennie valaminek lent, s az, amiből ez a lótusz sarjadt, minden bizonnyal a vízben van.” (SB.3.8.18.)
• A materialista eredetmagyarázatok hiten alapulnak. Társadalmi elfogadottságuk miatt hisznek benne sokan.
• Nem találjuk úgy meg az élet okát attól, hogy az anyagot részletesen vizsgáljuk.
• Őszinteség is szükséges ahhoz, hogy megkapjuk a válaszokat.
• “Nem így van!”
• A tudomány nem rossz, az alapja rossz.
• A Bhaktivedanta Intézetek jelentőségéről.

Here’s Madhava Gosh’s article on Dandavats

And here it is on his blog.

The latest topic amongst those in ISKCON addicted to debating is the annotation of Prabhupada’s books.

“Addicted to debating?”  That’s an offensive way to characterize this.  How about “who care about preserving Srila Prabhupada’s books as they are?” 

If I’m addicted to debating, it’s debating against nondevotees.  I hate having to debate against other devotees. 

I stipulate I haven’t read the GBC resolution and don’t know their specific reasons for deciding to annotate Prabhupada’s books…

My first impression on reading some of the feedback is that I think that half the opposing commentators or more don’t know what annotation is…

Gosh is saying that he don’t really know what we’re talking about because he hasn’t read the GBC resolution, but he’s accusing us of debating over a word without knowing its meaning.  Again, a big insult.  We know how to use a dictionary, and would not enter into a debate without knowing what we’re debating about.

One example would be like Srimad Bhagvatam class where after reading the verse and purport, the person giving class gives a critical analysis of what has been read. An oral annotation in other words. 

The speaker of a Srimad Bhagavatam class analyzes what is read, but these spoken words is not officially approved by ISKCON.  A speaker may speak some error and be corrected by a devotee in the audience.  There is a vast difference between someone’s oral commentary and printing someone’s commentary Srila Prabhupada’s books. 

Think of Shakespeare.

He wrote hundreds of years ago and since then the English language, being very fluid, has shifted.  In order to understand not only what the now archaic words meant but the cultural context and nuance of how those words were used, one would need to do an extensive study of the culture of that time.

How many hundreds of years ago did Srila Prabhupada write?  Oh, it was a few decades ago. Does anyone think rape an archaic word, or did it mean something different in 1972 than it does now?  Madhava Gosh is presenting an irrelevant comparison.  It is so bogus that I cannot believe Praghosa published it for any reason other than that it supports the GBC propaganda.

Highlighting these words again:

…the cultural context and nuance of how those words were used, one would need to do an extensive study of the culture of that time.

Is Madhava Gosh speaking at all about Srila Prabhupada’s books?  No.  There is no need for an extensive study of the 1970’s culture because most people who lived through it are still around today.

Annotations don’t change books, they clarify points in them. Shakespeare comes in both annotated and unannotated versions. Just because an annotated version of a book exists, doesn’t mean an unannotated version can’t also exist, so there is no need to worry an annotated version of SP’s books will replace the current ones.

That is something I don’t trust at all.  Annotating Srila Prabhupada’s books will change the officially recognized meaning.  If someone is to have any leadership role in ISKCON, he has to accept the party line in full.  I don’t see any guarantee in the GBC resolution that both annotated an As It Is books should be published side-by-side.  Of course, neither has Gosh, especially if he still hasn’t read what we’re talking about.

As language morphs, the need to annotate will become greater if the desire is there to retain Prabhupada’s books in original versions. That may seem academic now, but will be a greater need as decades slip by.

In that quote Madhava Gosh is attempting to predict the future by his mental speculation.  I can envison an alternative future where annotations are not at all necessary.  I think annotations would more likely be necessary at some point in the future if ISKCON falls to even more of an insignificant position in the world.  If it grows in size and strength, producing many advanced devotees all over the world, then I think the meaning of Srila Prabhupada’s books would be naturally well preserved.  It would appear that Madhava Gosh is thinking that ISKCON will remain marginal in the world, so that some day people will have to study the material circumstances related to Srila Prabhupada’s culture in order to figure out what he meant.  I hope we would have more continuity than that, but maybe it’s wishful thinking.  Considering the trajectory that ISKCON has been on since Srila Prabhupada left, maybe there will come a time when there are no real followers of Srila Prabhupada and it will be up to historians to figure out what he was talking about.  Unnecessarily annotating his books seems to me like a push in that direction.

Britain is turning into a nation of criminals with little sense of guilt, a study warns today.

Nearly two out of five men and women admit to an offence such as fare dodging or shoplifting in the past five years.

More than half do not see the fear of getting caught as a deterrent. And 57 per cent would not let worry about losing their job get in the way of them committing a crime.

The study commissioned by G4S Security Services (UK) into moral attitudes to crime highlights a sharp divide between the generations.

Of those aged 16-24, one in seven - 14 per cent - think it is ethically acceptable to dodge a fare on public transport, more than double the proportion of any other age group.

Nearly two out of five people have admitted to fare dodging or shoplifting in the past year, a study has found.

One in ten of the same age group think it is acceptable to enter a music or sports event without paying, compared with just 1 per cent of those aged over 55.

Douglas Greenwell, sales and marketing director of G4S, said: “Our findings reveal much about our attitude to crime.

“So many people see large organisations as a morally acceptable target nowadays that they don’t appear to have any feelings of guilt about committing crimes against those businesses.

“This is why firms, from retailers to train operating companies, have to protect their revenue by taking the issue of security seriously.”

According to G4S, which surveyed 1,002 16 to 64-year-olds, Britons admit to committing a range of crimes in the last five years.

It calculates that more than 700,000 have used company data for personal gain and nearly one in three (29 per cent) have stolen stationery from work for personal use, which equates to 7.61million.

The research provides evidence of a high level of criminal activity against retailers, with one in 11 of those aged 16 to 24 admitting to “grazing,” consuming items while walking around a supermarket and not paying for them.

On a regional level, London had the highest percentage of those who thought dodging fares was acceptable, at 11 per cent. This was closely followed by the South East/East Anglia with 9 per cent.

Almost one in three adults (31 per cent) said a sense of guilt would not prevent them from committing a crime.

Instead of relying on their conscience to determine whether they should engage in a criminal act, they make a calculated risk-reward analysis.

Visible security deterrents such as security officers or CCTV cameras are among the most effective solutions to deter crime.

Cameras would stop 40 per cent from committing a crime, and 38 per cent would be deterred by the fear of public humiliation, such as being frog-marched across a store by a security officer.

Yet only 28 per cent would be discouraged by concern over being ostracised by their friends and peers.

Hare Krishna.

A few days ago I read Sita-pati’s post at Atma Yogi about how Praghosa closed the comments on the GBC resolutions subject due to the devotees’ upset over the GBC’s decision to add annotations to Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Then I saw Madhava Gosh’s recent blog entry at Walking the Fenceline, in which he expresses his support of the resolution.  I thought his analysis was screwy. 

Now today I see that Madhava Gosh’s blog entry is published on Dandavats.

I’m sorry, but that is dishonest.  

“Dishonest” isn’t the first word that comes to mind, but I don’t want any gentle devotees who might happen to read this to have to see profanity.  I appreciate Dandavats very much and look to it each day for inspiration, but I don’t like that kind of propaganda at all. 

Srila Prabhupada’s words are quite clear.  I don’t need someone to interpret them.  I was attracted to the Hare Krishna movement entirely due to Srila Prabhupada’s words.  Apart from distributing Srila Prabhupada’s books his disciples have been more of an obstruction to my connection to Srila Prabhupada and have done more to thwart my enthusiasm for spiritual life than any inspiration they have given.  That may not win me friends or give me influence, but it is honest. 

Granted, I appreciate that the temples are somewhat maintained, the festivals, and all that.  But it is so far from what it ought to be, that one almost loses hope. 

Case in point:  A little more than 10 years ago my wife and I moved to New Vrindavana with our first baby daughter.  Until then, practically all I knew about the Hare Krishna movement was from Srila Prabhupada’s books, which I had been absorbed in reading for the previous two years since Krishna stopped me on my way to the forest for meditating on Brahman and asked me to join His sankirtan movement. 

I had looked in the back of Bhagavad-gita and saw there were these Hare Krishna “farm communities,” and I decided that what I really wanted to do with my life was to work as a farmer in a Hare Krishna community.  I can still clearly remember my vision of what this might have been like.

So we went for a weekend visit a month before we planned to move.  We met with the temple president, who was at that time Nityo Dita (former-) Swami.  He asked what we planned to do there, and I told him that we wanted to farm in a Hare Krishna community.  I can only imagine how naive he must have thought we were as he advised that I could work in the potpourri pie factory, an inedible “pie” manufacturing business run and largely staffed by ‘karmis’ at New Vrindavana.  I visited once and, upon seeing employees there eating meat and smoking cigarettes, I decided to never go back.  Instead of farming, I found myself doing whatever odd jobs I could get, which typically everyone wanted done for free, although without some remuneration there was no way to pay my rent (to the temple) for living in one of their incredibly cocroach-infested apartments.

During the brief period we lived there, we learned why there was no farming.  Nearly everyone was busy engaged in illegal and morally outrageous activities for the past fifteen-or-so years, under the authority of Kirtananda ”Swami,” who by that time was a felon living in a state penitentiary.  After 8 months of hearing about so many crimes committed there, from murder and child molestation and torture to racketeering, trademark infringement (as a business) and other fraudulent fund-raising, we began to think there was some danger living there, so we left in a hurry at night.

We continued to visit on occasion, and almost six years ago we had seen enough improvement that we decided we wanted to give another try and move back.  I met with Kuladri, and he told me there was no facility for either residence or service, and that if even his own brother wanted to move there, he would advise him against it.    As a result, we moved to Gita-nagari.  The advantage was that I was already a Pennsylvania state employee with a decent career enforcing environmental laws.

There was also no facility for our family to live at Gita-nagari, so we found a house with five acres about 12 miles away.  There we are doing the farming, including growing a wide variety of vegetables, cow protection and protection of many other animals (domesticated farm animals and wildlife), etc., pretty nicely.  We produce natural crafts such as herbal medicines and knitted and woven ahimsa wool products.  We have only a little devotee association though.  There is a surprising deficiency of participation in the Sunday programs, and many devotees are alienated and don’t come to the temple at all.  There is virtually no preaching, other than sankirtan about five times a year, usually about 50 miles away.  Although the cow protection program is somehow being maintained, there is no other farming.  For the past few years there have been practically no growing of vegetables.  Sometimes devotees who like to farm have come to live at Gita-nagari, but they have been driven away.  Others were discouraged from coming during the deciding phase.  

So here’s the problem.  Srila Prabhupada’s disciples have done very poorly in following his instructions, with the result that ISKCON has very little favorable influence in most of the world, and now those same leaders want to tell us how we should understand Srila Prabhupada’s clear statements, and have their ideas officially endorsed by adding them within Srila Prabhupada’s books.

Given that ISKCON’s leaders have given the Hare Krishna movement such a poor reputation (at least in the USA where I live), how dare they interfere with Srila Prabhupada’s communication to us by telling us how we should understand his books? 

I’ll have to comment on the specifics of Madhava Gosh’s article later.

Hare Krishna.

Morning class from Kecskemet on the manifestation of Brahma:

• The empirical system of knowledge is flawed, but is a well-developed tradition promoted by similarly flawed proponents.
• Finding true knowledge doesn’t depend upon our own sensual perception.
• No modern scientific theories are proven but are supported and fuelled by modern educational institutions, which feeds the hedonism of society.
• Brahma had the humility to admit he was wrong, unlike modern scientists whose entire methodology is flawed.

Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur’s home, room, tulasi garden

Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupada’s room and a small Goverdhan hill, the rocks of which comes from the actual site. And a beautiful pond.

Srila Prabhupada’s Pushpa Samadhi, 24-hr Bajana Kutir 

Before I left Mayapur, I attended a truly beautiful Mangal aarti. There were so many devotees at that time of the morning and so full of energy. I went around the temple bidding farewell to all those whom I had met in my short stay. As I left the devotees, the temple, the village, I could feel how truly a spiritual place, Mayapur actually is. 

Almost 4 hrs of pure bliss