In the yoga-sutras, Patanjali says one can control the vrittis(though waves) by fixing the mind on one who has transcended human passions and attachments(vita raga-visayam ca cittam). So by thinking of a liberated soul or by looking at his picture, one can pacify the mind, purify the heart and increase one's concentration on japa. Remembering an advanced soul also purifies the mind: "One gets one-hunredth portion of the religious merit of a person by thinking of him." (Padma P. Uttara-khanda ch. 112v. 9-29)

From Art of Chanting Hare Krsna by Mahanidhi Swami

This weekend in Japa room we talked about our obstacles in chanting. There were many nice questions which inspired all in the sessions. I asked about chanting in the proper mood, humility... and the answer I got was that we need to chant seriously and this will develop naturally - as much as we get purified by nice chanting this quality is developing gradually....actually is being uncovered by the process and naturally comes out. Another good point discussed was about the taste for chanting, wow this is a nice one - a devotee asked about how to taste the nectar of chanting and he got this answer: Anytime we make an endeavor the Lord will reciprocate with bestowing taste, it's not that we demand from Him this taste, no... it's just given because if we please Him with good efforts by following the process, He will definitely reciprocate with us and the result is the taste for chanting which is our aim.

Otober 19 2008

Here’s a recent question from Nityananda Priya dasi in the CIS about the famous prediction that within this Kali-yuga there will be a 10,000 year period of grace where people will be able to easily take to the Sankirtana movement and go back home back to Godhead:

“I would like to ask a question, if it is allowed. I am sometimes asked, what are the symptoms of the 10,000 years of the Golden Age? Can we say, it is the possibility to preach and chant the Holy Name all over the world?”

Answer:  

 I think that is a good summary. By the arrangement of the Lord, the conditions become favorable for preaching and for people to receive the holy names and the message of the Bhagavatam.

 In the SB 11.5.38-40 it says:

“It is stated in the Visnu-dharma,
kalau krta-yugam tasya
kalis tasya krte yuge
yasya cetasi govindo
hrdaye yasya nacyutah

“For one who has Lord Govinda in his heart, Satya-yuga becomes manifest in the midst of Kali, and conversely even Satya-yuga becomes Kali-yuga for one who does not have the infallible Lord in his heart.”

And in the 12th canto it is stated:
SB 12.3.26

“According to Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, within each age the other three ages occasionally manifest as sub-ages. Thus even within Satya-yuga a demon in the mode of ignorance may appear, and within the age of Kali the highest religious principles may flourish for some time. As described in Srimad-Bhagavatam, the three modes of nature are present everywhere and in everything, but the predominant mode, or combination of modes, determines the general character of any material phenomenon. In each age, therefore, the three modes are present in varying proportions. The particular age represented by goodness (Satya), passion (Treta), passion and ignorance (Dvapara) or ignorance (Kali) exists within each of the other ages as a subfactor.”

On several occasions during his last tour of the USA Srila Prabhupada specifically told us that this movement would go on for 10,000 years:

 

(more…)

Due to the incompetency of an airport staff member in Copenhagen we were not allowed to board our 8:55am flight from Copenhagen to Helsinki. Not understanding properly the policy of the airline she represented, the lady at the gate confiscated our boarding passes and told us that our tickets did not allow us to fly. We were unnecessarily forced to go...

CAMP: ISKCON; 3, Albert Road; Calcutta-17, India

My dear Hayagriva,

Please accept my blessings. I am in due receipt of your letter dated 3d May, 1971 and have noted the contents. That New Vrindaban is developing so nicely is very much encouraging to me, so increase it more and more. It is sounding so much attractive and making me want to return to U.S.A. even sooner.

We are now very busy in Calcutta on account of our ‘Hare Krishna’ festival and we are drawing 30,000 people daily. You will be glad to know that we have purchased two pieces of land in Mayapur at Rs. 20,000/- and they are going to construct some nice temple there.

Regarding other matters, better you settle up things amongst the GBC members. I have created GBC members for peaceful negotiation of management affairs. But if you GBC members sometimes agree and sometimes disagree, that is not very good for management. But if sometimes you have disagreements, I shall settle them up. Soon I shall be returning to U.S.A. and I shall meet you all there.

Hoping this will meet you in good health,

Your ever well-wisher,
A.C. Bhaktivendata Swami

On Sunday 26th October, 2008 we will celebrate Go-Puja and Govardhana Puja at the Temple. Programme starts at 3pm. Everyone is welcome.

Programme:
• 3:00pm :Bhajans
• 3:30pm :Go-Puja
• 3:45pm :Childrens Drama, "Lifting Govardhana Hill"
• 4:15pm :Class
• 5:00pm :Govardhana Puja          
Arati Kirtan           
Maha Govardhana Feast

Everyone is Welcome.

If you would like to take the opportunity to sponsor any of the following (Anyone may sponsor the full amount or a part of the total amount):

Maha feast - $1008
Making of Govardhana Hill - $651
Abhishek - $251
Feeding a Cow - $51
Flowers and Altar decorations - $508
Temple Decoration - $151
Temple Grounds - $151

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.2.55 - Chanting is the topmost priority.

The woman, created by the Lord, is representative of maya, and one who associates with such maya by accepting services must certainly know that this is the way to death, just like a blind well covered with grass.

Canto 3 Chapter 31 Verse 40

What three risks are you willing to take in order to succeed with your new Krsna conscious venture?

Which of these risks will you commit to now?

"One should take all kinds of risks and perform all endeavors for Krsna’s benefit."
- Nectar of Devotion, Chapter 6

Think of an alternative name for your Krsna conscious product, service or idea - something very different than you are calling it now.

What insights does this alternate name trigger?

"Simply we have to administer this novel idea to the people in general very magnificently."
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Bali-mardana 70-03-26.Bal)

Fast forward to the year 2100.

How are the people of that time benefiting form your Krsna conscious products or services?

Allen Ginsberg: Do you think more people will chant Hare Krsna or fewer?
Prabhupada: Oh, yes. More people. Now it will increase.
Allen Ginsberg: Until?
Prabhupada: Up to ten thousand years.
(Conversation, May 13 1969, Columbus, Ohio)

Imagine that you come before a desire tree with your favourite idea and it grants you three wishes to make it come true.

What do you wish for?

"I wish that all our Krsna conscious literature may be available to men of all languages throughout the world … ."
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Sivananda 69-07-22.Siv)

Imagine it is five years from now and your most inspired Krsna conscious idea has become a reality.

Write - or tell - the news story describing your success.

"Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu desired that his name be spread in each and every town and village on the surface of the globe.”
- Srila Prabhupada (Cc Adi 7.23 Purport)

Name the seven major elements of your most fascinating Krsna conscious idea - then eliminate three of them.

In what ways would your creation change if you developed it without these three elements?

"We try to simplify matters, plain living."
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture 720530SB.LA)

What change or addition to your new Krsna conscious venture would catapult it into an entirely new league?

What's your next step?

"The expert devotees also can discover novel ways and means to convert the nondevotees in terms of particular time and circumstance."
- Srila Prabhupada (SB 1.5.16 P)

Usually when a person has a creative breakthrough, there is an element of STRETCHING involved – the effort to go beyond existing boundaries and EXTEND into an unknown future. Surfers “hand ten”. Astronauts “push the envelope”. Ski jumpers lean far out over their skis. If you want to break new ground, you too will need to stretch. You too will need to take some risks and extend yourself beyond your normal ways of thinking and doing.

What boundaries, limits, or old paradigms are you willing to change this week?

What inspired Krsna conscious idea of yours haven't you acted on because you assumed it would be difficult to pull off?

How can you resurrect this idea in the next week - or at least some aspect of it?

"We are giving old wine in new bottle. If is old, why the up-to-date Western boys are taking?”
- Srila Prabhupada (Conversation 751129.mw.del)

Ever since daylight savings was introduced here in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, I've been seriously behind in my daily morning walks; the tinkering with time really threw my body clock off kilter.

So today, even though it looked like rain, I took off shortly after sunrise for what would normally be my favourite 1.5 hour coastal walk - down Military Road from my house in Dover Heights to Bondi Beach, then up around the spectacular cliffside walking paths, past a few beaches, then back.

By the time I reached the coast I remembered that I was right in the middle of Sydney's 12th annual Sculpture by the Sea festival. The 2 kilometres from Bondi to Tamarama is dotted with over 100 sculptures from around the world, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Tasman Sea.

My walk stretched on for close to 4 hours, and I met a few interesting people on the way. This little boy is made entirely from blocks of carved glass.

Andy Warhol is woven from wire.

Our giant soldier was cast from metal, then artfully coated with a green plastic skin. He resembled one of the little plastic soldiers I used to collect when I was young, only bigger.

Audio lecture bY HH Guruprasad Swami in ISKCON Juhu Mumbai during the recent GBC meetings there.

Dressed by: Sachimata dd. & Chaitanya Lila das.

1966 October 20 :
"Today first hearing was done in the matter of my visa extension It will be heard again on 10/28/66 at 9 a.m."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1972 October 20 : "Our position is very strong. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. Why you should be afraid of him? He is simply planning tricks. We can satisfy any court of law."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 October 20 : "So immediately you can file criminal case. It is simple case of his cheating. He has taken money but he has not executed. So why you should be disappointed and afraid of him?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 October 20 : "I am very glad to learn you are distributing our books to the libraries in Calcutta. So you are a nice boy, continue on in this way. I am returning to Calcutta for Lord Caitanya's Appearance Day and I look forward to seeing you then."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 October 20 : "Regarding your opening another school, if you can do it, I have no objection. But, it is a great responsibility. To open for a few days, and then close it is not good."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 October 20 : "Regarding my seeing the Pope, now I am India, and then I shall go to Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, and U.S.A. So it is not possible to go there at this time. It can be postponed to a future date. I shall let you know."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

We are pleased to welcome back Devamritaswami this Wednesday to the Loft Lounge - please join us for another enlightening evening of discussion. 6pm $8 (includes dinner)

Lifted from my journal:

The kirtan is building. People are amassing. The hands on the clock tick towards six o'clock.

The king is coming. Soon.

*

He's late. The crowd is growing more and more massive. Crazy. Amal is rocking the kirtan right now.... building, building... I'll see the famous Aindra for the first time any moment now... any moment now...

Aho! There he is! In tattered white, he entered the center of the kirtan from behind in a very quiet, very undramatic way. Such an unassuming man. This is Amal's hero.

*

Wow. Live at last. For years, always recordings. Now I am immersed in the spiraling voice, the mridangas, the crowd, the tumultuous clapping hands, the soft yellow light from the chandeliers, a faint breeze on my back from the fans. The rhythm of the drums reverberates in my chest.

Krishna Balaram smile upon the King of Kirtan.

click in the middle to start the slide show:



To view the sample photos and get the serial file name to make an order GO HERE.

Dear Devotees,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada and all
glories to the holy name!

Thank you so much for attending the second annual 24 Hour Kirtan Festival at
New Vrindaban this June. We think you will all agree that the event was a grand success and has become a permanent fixture on the North American festival calendar.

We are grateful to you all for your participation and contributions. In
particular, the following devotees deserve special mention for their kind
donations to support the festival: Nityodita Das and Radha DD; Vyasa Muni
Das; Pranabandhu Das and the UK party, and Pancatattva Das and Yauvanananda DD.

We would like to continue to keep the Kirtan Festival free of all
registration charges and have free prasadam for all–that way everyone can
simply focus on the nectarean taste of the holy names!

Of course there are very real expenses for such a large festival like
prasadam, transportation, and sound. To help raise funds for the 2009
Festival, we have just produced a set of two Mp3 CDs and a full length DVD
of this year’s Kirtan Festival. We are offering the current package for $51:

2 Disk CD Set
1 DVD
1 24 Hour Kirtan NV T-shirt (please indicate your size)

To place your order, please send a check or money order to:

24 Hour Kirtan
C/o Ananda Tirtha Das
RD 1, NBU48
Moundsville, WV 26041

or by Paypal to kirtan@pamho.net.

Any other donations are glady accepted. Please inform us of your order by
email too. Please also note that we are tentatively planning to hold the
2009 Kirtan Festival on the weekend of June 20-21. Plan to come again and
bring your friends!

Hare Krishna.

Yours in the service of the holy name,

Ananda Tirtha Das
Radha Sundari DD
Nitai Das
Gopal Das

New Vrindaban 24 Hour Kirtan Festival Team

(Photos courtesy of Rasacarya Das, see more here

Srila Prabhupada has told us that as soon as envy is wiped out we are
effectively living in the spiritual world. He said we don't need a
certificate. We can examine out hearts and see how much we have freed
ourselves of envy. If there is envy, we live in the material world; as
soon as envy is eradicated we are residents of the spiritual world.

read more

Tonite was a busy nite at the Hare Krishna Temple.  I had new flavors of jam for sale, including Tangerine Persimmon Marmalade, Orange Vanilla Bean Cardamom Jam, astringent Persimmon Jam and Saffron Vanilla Bean Persimmon Jam.  Their colorful jars were a welcomed addition to the table, providing an eye catching display.  

All visitors to the site are encouraged to respond with their comments, queries, answers, etc. Contact the moderator Ayush at ayush.goyal@comlab.oxford.ac.uk. Let us begin our quest for the truth together.

Mon. Oct. 13/08 - Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

The chanting session today was comprised of the following, On mrdunga drum was Nitai Ram, our head monk in Halifax, kartalas (hand cymbals) was Praharana, a super secretary of a woman from Toronto, the harmonium playing was executed by Vrnda, another exceptional spiritual leader who’s Winnipeg and back up singers and smilers from Vancouver were Jaya Govinda and Damodara Gopal. I had the honour to lead the chanting held in the local Unitarian church engaging a room full of enthusiastic chanters and dancers.

It was Canada’s Thanks-giving and so there is no more appropriate way to express gratitude than by mantra power. The level of responsiveness to the chanters here in Thunder Bay is quite phenomenal. Additional drummers on Djembe Dave and Hero, local guys also contributed to jay and felt a major reciprocation.

It is most evident to me that the prediction and effort by luminary Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Father of the Holy name, is coming to pass.

11 Km

Sat. Oct. 11/08 - Lake Shebandowan, Ontario, Canada

There was an early morning rain, so I managed to find the option of walking around the pool table in the quiet games room while chanting on my beads. The location is a resort facility on a gorgeous lake called Shebandowan. When the early sunlight appears so do the golden autumn deciduous trees appear blending with their cousins the green coniferous trees. Once our meetings commenced the participants could not help but peer out the expansive window. On their own individually to capture that natural beauty.

I admit that our discussions were stimulating, however, the event itself was sedentary. So by 8pm it was time to explore that freshness of nature and do a favour to my antsy legs that tolerated stillness all day. Headed eastbound on highway 11 on this isolated stretch where an automobile may pass by only every 10 minutes or so I noticed a small dot of light in the distance. The sun had descended after an almost complete day of cloud so the tiny light stood pronounced. It was set low on the side of the highway. When I came near I heard a movement, “Who is it?”, I said in a curious tone. There was no answer. Faintly I saw an image and then there was movement again. It was an elderly man holding a flashlight and sitting on the side of the road. He explained he was resting and had been walking all the way from the last city, Thunder Bay and had another 100 kms to go to get to a village Emo, a native reserve. Since I could not see him well through the dark I could understand that he was Indigenous when he said he was ojicree. He decided to get up to proceed walking so I helped him get up. He complained about a sore leg. He adjusted his hearing aid so we could continue talking. He spoke and expressed his dismay at domestic life as we set westbound together.

“I was living with my wife but she is addicted to drugs, I’m stressed and so I’m seeing my brother.” He asked about me and my lifestyle so I explained and then had to leave to make my way back to my cabin. As I saw him go we bid our good-byes. I was very concerned for him although knowing he has lived the tough life. Off he went down the highway with mean wilderness on both sides of this quiet road. The rain started coming down. Krishna, please take care of the sweet elder man.

5 Km

Fri., Oct.10/08 - Lake Shebandowan, Ontario, Canada

On my flight to Thunder Bay the fellow sitting next to me expressed interest in my garb and what it stood for.

“I’m a monk who has roots coming from an ancient culture from India.”

The young man is employed as an analyst for the government (dealing with stats and such) mentioned he was raised Catholic but wasn’t sure about the concept of afterlife. “No one has ever proven it! Even Jesus, I think he could be a myth.”

To the best of my ability I offered this thought, “each and everyone of us have the urge to enjoy permanently. We don’t want to die. That essential and innate inner drive “to exist eternally” never dissipates. It’s the principal that leads us on to believe that there is such a thing as an undying spark of life called the atma or the soul. After the body sheds….

“As far as Jesus is concerned whether you want to believe in whether he roamed the earth at one time or not we can well appreciate his universal messages of truth, “Love your neighbour as yourself”, is a healthy directive, someone spoke it. “Personally I accept him as one of my gurus.”

My new friend found that interesting and proceeded to put headphones on, listening to his favorite music I imagined.

The walking today was comprised of almost nothing. I’m here to assist in the co-ordination of an AGM - Annual General Meetings, for our small group of about 20 people consisting of monks and family folks who have assumed spiritual leadership.

1 Km

Sometimes we hear devotees talk about a grand plan Srila Prabhupada had for spreading the teachings of Lord Chaitanya, even before he came to the West. We have a hint of that plan, and perhaps a glimpse into his internal life, in a poem he wrote aboard the Jaladuta. On September 13, 1965, he wrote in his diary, “Today I have disclosed my mind to my companion Lord Sri Krsna.There is a Bengali poem made by me today in this connection.” He called this poem "Prayer to the Lotus Feet of Krishna."

krsna taba punya habe bhai
e-punya koribe jabe radharani khusi habe
dhruva ati boli toma tai
Dear brother, Krishna, it is as certain as the Pole Star that you will attain your good fortune only when Srimati Radharani becomes pleased with you.

sri-siddhanta saraswati
saci-suta priya ati
krsna-sebaya jara tula nai
sei se mohanta-guru
jagater madhe uru
krsna-bhakti dey thai thai
Sri Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, who is very dear to Lord Gauranga, the son of mother Saci, is unparalleled in his service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krsna. He is that great saintly spiritual master who bestows intense devotion to Krsna at different places throughout the world.

tara iccha balavan
pascatyete than than
hoy jate gauranger nam
prthivite nagaradi
asamudra nada nadi
sakalei loy krsna nam
By his strong desire, the holy name of Lord Gauranga will spread throughout all the countries of the Western world. In all the cities, towns, and villages on the earth, from all the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams, everyone will chant the holy name of Krsna.

tahale ananda hoy
tabe hoy digvijay
caitanyer krpa atisay
maya dusta jata duhkhi
jagate sabai sukhi
vaisnaver iccha purna hoy
As the vast mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu conquers all directions, a flood of transcendental ecstasy will certainly cover the land. When all the sinful, miserable living entities become happy, the Vaisnavas' desire is then fulfilled.

se karja je koribare
ajna jadi dilo more
jogya nahi an dina hina
tai se tomara krpa
magitechi anurupa
aji numi sabar pravina
Although my Guru Maharaja ordered me to accomplish this mission, I am not worthy or fit to do it. I am very fallen and insignificant. Therefore, O Lord, now I am begging for Your mercy so that I may become worthy, for You are the wisest and most experienced of all.

tomara se sakti pele
guru-sebaya bastu mile
jibana sarthak jadi hoy
sei se seva paile
tahale sukhi hale
taba sanga bhagyate miloy
If You bestow Your power, by serving the spiritual master one attains the Absolute Truth-one's life becomes successful. If that service is obtained, then one becomes happy and gets Your association due to good fortune.

evam janam nipatitam prabhavahikupe
kamabhikamam anu yah prapatan prasangat
krtvatmasat surarsina bhagavan grhitah
so 'ham katham nu visrje tava bhrtya-sevam
My dear Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, because of my association with material desires, one after another, I was gradually falling into a blind well full of snakes, following the general populace. But Your servant Narada Muni kindly accepted me as his disciple and instructed me how to achieve this transcendental position. Therefore, my first duty is to serve him. How could I leave his service? (Prahlada Maharaja to Lord Nrsimhadeva, Bhag. 7.9.28)

tumi mor cira sathi
bhuliya mayar lathi
khaiyachi janma-janmantare
aji punah e sujoga jadi
hoy jogayoga tabe
pari tuhe milibare
O Lord Krsna, You are my eternal companion. Forgetting You, I have suffered the kicks of maya birth after birth. If today the chance to meet You occurs again, then I will surely be able to rejoin You.

tomara milane bhai
abar se sukha pai
gocarane ghuri din bhor
kata bane chutachuti
bane khai lutaputi
sei din kabe habe mor
O dear friend, in Your company I will experience great joy once again. In the early morning I will wander about the cowherd pastures and fields. Running and frolicking in the many forests of Vraja, I will roll on the ground in spiritual ecstasy. Oh when will that day be mine?

aji se subidhane
tomara smarana bhela
baro asa dakilam tai
ami tomara nitya-dasa
tai kori eta asa tumi
bina anya gati nai
Today that remembrance of You came to me in a very nice way. Because I have a great longing I called to You. I am Your eternal servant and therefore I desire Your association so much. O Lord Krsna, except for You there is no other means of success.

Srila Prabhupada's long-time friend and godbrother, Srila B. R. Sridhara Maharaja., opined that this poem, directed to Krishna, gives clues to Prabhupada's internal spiritual life:

He expressed his own position in eternal lila in his poem. I conjecture like that. Hare Krsna! In his diary in Bengali he wrote, “Today I cooked some bati-caccari. It was quite delicious. So I ate something. Today I expressed my inner feelings to my friend and wrote a poem about that.”

And that friend came to his aid. He was so earnest in his prayer to Krsna that he might be able discharge the duty that had been given to him by his Guru Maharaja that Krsna came down to help him—his friend helped him in this propaganda work. So saktyavesa-avatara. I take him; I cannot but take him to be so.

Addressing Krsna he wrote, “You are my eternal friend. Forgetting You, I have come to this world and I have been suffering the kicking of Maya, the goddess of misconception. If You come to help me in this campaign, then after finishing this I can again join You. When I shall be united with You again I shall wander along with You the whole day in keeping the cows in the forest. Running this side and that side in the jungle, in the forest. And then, lutaputi, to fall on the ground in different shows of play. I aspire after that day. I have got this good chance to serve my Gurudeva. For that reason my heartfelt appeal to You is that You please come to help me. I am Your eternal servitor, therefore so much aspiration I have got for You. You, no other, are my only resort.”

So after performing this service he aspires after a life in the cow-keeping lila of Krsna, and he is appreciating that sort of friendly service of Krsna very much from the core of his heart, his aspiration after finishing his worldly preaching campaign.

So what was Srila Prabhupada's grand plan? Feeling himself helpless and completely dependent on his friend Krishna, he talked the Lord into helping him. And, it would seem, his plan worked brilliantly.

I am going to try here to talk about a very advanced topic in Krsna Conciousness and also in chanting....I think it's one or maybe the last stage of chanting because we must be surrendered to have this chanting. Chanting with the heart is for the ones who have their hearts opened, soft and that can be touched by the Holy Names of the Lord. It's important to say here what makes the heart softer and what makes it harder.

================================================================== Thought for the Day--Monday 20 October 2008 ================================================================== Dedicated with love to you, our treasured readers, and to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Our purpose is to help everyone awaken...

What is the biggest obstacle in the way of manifesting your most inspired Krsna conscious idea?

Name three ways you can go over, around or through this obstacle?

"So many obstacles. But we do not care for these obstacles. We must push on."
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture 741212SB.BOM)

What is your biggest limiting assumption about your riskiest new Krsna conscious project or idea?

What can you do to go beyond this assumption?

"So far I am concerned I always take risk for Krsna."
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Gargamuni 68-02-12.Gar)

What if neither time nor money were an obstacle?

What clues does this give you about moving forward with your most extraordinary new Krsna conscious idea or venture?

"If you want something and you approach Krsna, you’ll find unlimited supply, unlimited supply, just like an ocean.”
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture 681004LE.SEA)

Here's a dash of particle physics: quarks are fermions, particles whose position and movement is governed by Fermi-Dirac statistics. According to the Pauli Exclusion Principle of quantum mechanics, two fermions cannot co-exist at a quantum state simultaneously. If they do, their spins must vary. That's the science but what's it say? In quantum mechanics, the position or momentum of an electron is always uncertain with respect to the other (Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle) property and thus the electron's movement around the atomic nucleus is a probability distribution rather than a defined orbit. At the microscopic level, the differentiation between a particle and a wave tends towards nil (de Broglie's Wave-Particle Duality). Nobody has ever seen an atom, an electron, or any other hadron for that matter, what to speak of quarks. The pictures obtained of the microscopic particles visualized through electron microscopes are only interpretations of highly focused electron beam's collision, scattering, and absorption with microscopic particles used to form an image.

This discussion is in continuation of our first online debate: "The God Particle - Can Science Unveil the Heart of Matter?" Every visitor is invited to post their comments or share their thoughts with the moderator via email: ayush.goyal@comlab.oxford.ac.uk. Here are a few questions to ponder upon:

1. Do scientists know for sure what is at the basis of hadrons or quarks?
2. Can scientists actually deduce "the indivisible particle" that is at the crux of the atom and that is the most fundamental building block of all of creation?
3. Could an 'indivisible particle' be the fundamental building block or is it vibrations, as discussed in the superstring theory?

Think of one really absurd enhancement to your new Krsna conscious idea - then identify at least one good thing about it that intrigues you.

What clues does this give you about proceeding differently?

“So you yourself become very convinced of this fact and be very bold in preaching Krsna consciousness there in Berlin.”
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Vasudeva 72-05-31.Vas)

Logic, rationality, and analysis are all essential to the future success of your project. But not at this particular moment.

In what ways can you let your intuition - and only intuition - guide you for the next few days?

"Knowledge given by Paramatma (Supersoul) from within the core of the heart is explained by the modern scientist as intuition."
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture 760805BG.PAR)

In what way is your perfectionism causing you to procrastinate?

How can you move your favourite Krsna conscious project forward even though you think it's not totally ready?

"Every endeavour is covered by some sort of fault, just as fire is covered by smoke. Therefore one should not give up the work which is born of his nature, O son of Kunti, even if such work is full of fault."
- Bhagavad-gita 18.48

What routine tasks can you put off this month so you have more time to work on your new Krsna conscious project?

What tasks do you need to delegate? Simplify? Eliminate?

"Simple living, high thinking and high practice. That’s the cornerstone of our philosophies."
- Srila Prabhupada (Conversation 730712r2.lon)

If you could change places with anyone on the planet for a single day, who would it be?

How would this person go about developing your most exciting new Krsna conscious idea or venture?

"We have to see through the eyes of a person who has perfect vision."
- Srila Prabhupada (Conversation 731218mw.la)

What would you do differently if you had to complete your most inspired Krsna conscious project in the next 30 days?

In the next week? By tommorow?

"We do not know when death will come. So this is an opportunity. "
- Srila Prabhupada (Lecture, Madhya-lila 25.29 – San Francisco, January 21 1967)

People who want to create something new are typically of two minds. One is practical, logical and analytical. The other is playful, associative, and intuitive. Just like day and night, both are needed. In the formative first stages of the creative process, however, it is essential that you SUSPEND that practical, logical, and analytical part of yourself – the “inner critic”. That is, IF you want to access the realm of true originality within you.

In what ways can you suspend your need for logic, data, and practicality this month?

OK. You are busy. Overloaded. Maxed. Too much service to do.

Now, where and when can you find small amounts of time - "in the oaks" - to develop your most fascinating Krsna conscious idea?

"You must all find time to write some articles for publishing in Back to Godhead. That is culture."
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Yamuna 70-03-02.Yam)

You are alone in an elevator with the most powerful venture capitalist in the world. Both of you will be getting off in 60 seconds.

What do you say to ensure that your most inspired Krsna conscious project gets funded?

"If we perform everything nicely and always seize every opportunity to preach about Krsna, that is our formula for success.”
- Srila Prabhupada (Letter to Locanananda 71-12-08.Loc)

Lord Kapila to mother Devahuti: Just try to understand the mighty strength of My maya in the shape of a woman, who by the mere movement of her eyebrows can keep even the greatest conquerors of the world under her grip.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 3 Chapter 31 Verse 38