We are here on the Sankirtana festival on Simhacalam, South Germany. In the festival opening speech, H.H.Sacinandana Swami mentioned how things which went nicely last year we should carry with us to a New Year and things (or mentalities) which were not that nice, we should leave to last year.
I thought this can be seen in connection to Japa also - things what we were doing nicely, let's keep up with these and things where we were lazy, better to leave these behind.
There have been lots of nectarean kirtans here - chanting for many hours with elevated devotees is always very uplifting. Last evening a thought came that one cannot enter into the mysteries of the holy name without mercy - in kirtan I can somehow understand that the holy name is something very deep, but there is no qualification to really enter into the depths.
It is same both with kirtan or Japa, we should do the maximum endeavor to concentrate and be attentive, but it is finally the mercy of the holy name and pure devotees, if we can actually realize something about the holy name.

Your servant,

Real attitude of devotional service is, whether I am here or there, whether I am doing this or that, it doesn't matter, just give me little prasada, little service, or if you make me big leader, that's all right - that is devotee, satisfied to serve Krishna in any circumstances of life.

- Prabhupada

In the beginning there may be some failures. That is quite natural. Just a child is trying to stand, he may fall down. But that does not mean he should give up the idea. Go on. A time will come come when he will be perfect. So we should not give up this business, to try to serve the Supreme. May be imperfect in the beginning, but stick to it, and a time will come when you'll be perfect, Krishna conscious.

- Prabhupada

Okay, so now that I can upload videos, I am going a little crazy with it. But you know...got to start somewhere.

So why not start with sausage?

In an effort to spread a little New Year cheer (which I admit, I seem to be running low on), I dropped off some Sabjimata Spicy Italian Vegan Sausage at the home of a friend who lives nearby. And yes, I filmed it.

Not the most exciting stuff but it helped me get familiar with the new medium of video. Of course, like most people, I am not so please with how I look on film. I should have worn my retainer because boy are my lower teeth messed up. And I realize I blink. A lot. And, ummm, I say "so" a lot. Which I think is an affectation picked up from going to Srimad Bhagavatam class.

This video is a little high on the Hare Krishna quotient so have fun peering into the hidden world of an elderly African-American Hare Krishna woman and the goofball who brings her vegan sausage.

Here is the link to Say It With Sausage.

Malati devi dasi (LOK): Meet Sivarama Swami and Madhava Dasa in this highly intoxicating kirtan experience on Saturday 31 January and Sunday 1 February! The devotees of Radhadesh wish you a happy new year with lots of nice personal realizations under the guiding care of Lord Sri Krishna.

By Kurma Rupa Das

Dear Friends, Jai Govinda! Our January 2009 Care for Cows Newsletter has been posted. Please review it at your earliest convenience.

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

Our penultimate concert in South Africa took place at the Gandhi Hall in Lenasia, a suburb of Johannesburg. The ISKCON temple is also situated in Lenasia, so much of the audience was made up of congregation, friends, family and supporters of the temple. However, our hosts had also been hard at work selling tickets and advertising in local shopping centres and in other small businesses. Considering it was a week night, the turn out was very good, with a great deal of the 1000- seater auditorium being filled.
(more…)

If there is even "a pinch" (Srila Prabhupada's expression) of material
desire, one cannot attain the spiritual world. Here's what Srila Prabhupada said
about this in LA on 26 May 1972:
"This is significant. Those who are Krsna
conscious, they have no material desires. Finished. Brahmany upasamasrayam.
Upasama, upasama means completely finished, don't want. They can worship the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise, without being akama ... Akama means
no material desires. Anyabhilasita-sunyam [BRS.1.1.11], completely. If

read more

1971 January 1 : "If you keep to the standard of pure spiritual life as I have humbly instructed you there is no doubt that this Sankirtana Movement will overtake all the earth and all opposing parties will be cracked down to nothing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 January 1 : "I wish that it be noted down in history that this Krishna Consciousness Movement was responsible for saving the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 1 : "Krishna will bless you a million times over for doing this work. I am so much grateful to you. By distributing my books profusely you are giving me great encouragement to translate."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 1: "Where will I go at the time of death if I am thinking of my spiritual master? You will go to Him. Whatever we are thinking about at the time of death - we shall attain to that nature without fail."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 January 1 : "I am asking you to take new heart and try to cooperate with each other. If we have to constantly move until we find the situation where there is no personal difficulty then we may never get down to our real work."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 January 1 : "You are my dear and beloved son and because you are carrying out my instructions exactly as I have taught you, Krsna will be very pleased with you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 January 1 : "You can make ISKCON FOOD RELIEF cards. But the money collected using this card must be sent to India where we are actually feeding people. We should not do anything which will create a bad impression or make us unpopular."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 1 : "People are after these books, they are hankering for them. We don't need to take cheating method. I never had to use any cheating method when I first began. I simply presented the real thing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Happy New Year to all our regular readers and listeners.

All our class recorders and editors were at catering jobs over the New Year holiday so we are a bit behind with our class posting. Things should get back to normal by the weekend.

Thanks for your patience, support and encouragement.

Ortrun Gates: Hare Krishna! The Winter Damodara Rati and AaC Newsletter for Gita Nagari, Port Royal, PA has been published. Please click the link included and enjoy!

Madhuha dasa: Starting this new year, 2009, the (Mini) Hare Krishna Festival will be available at a reasonable cost for programs at preaching centers, universities, parks, and other locations--- the front or back yard of your preaching center/home, or anyplace else where there is room for us to set up, yes, we can do it.

By Praghosa Dasa

While the shameless economic experts are now predicting when there will be an upturn in the global economy, those same experts suffered a collective blind spot when failing to predict the biggest economic collapse in the last 80 years, everyone and their pet dog can see, like the emperor, they have neither clothes, nor a clue as to what will or won’t happen with the economy.

How could an intelligent man competent enough to possess such exalted qualities allow his followers to praise him if he did not actually have them? Praising a man by saying that if he were educated he might have become a great scholar or great personality is nothing but a process of cheating. A foolish person who agrees to accept such praise does not know that such words simply insult him.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 4 Chapter 15 Verse 24

Parikrama

Wishing everyone a wonderful KC filled and spiritually powerful New Year!

My last day of 2008 was incredible. I had the great mercy to go with a bunch of devotees to Katwa, the place where Lord Caitanya took sannyasa. Leaving at 5:30am we spent the entire day going to various pastime places and hearing incredible lilas. I can't think of a better way to end off the old year and ring in the new than trying to grab hold of a speck of Lord Caitanya's mercy. Stay tuned, I'll try to post the many pictures I took and share some of the nectar we were fortunate to hear asap. Srila Mahaprabhu ki JAI!

Around this time last year, i thought about ending this blog. I announced this in a post around New Year's Day, January 2008. A few friends responded by encouraging me not to stop writing. Since then i've written another 70 posts, which i think are better than the previous year's batch. Although i don't get a lot of feedback, sometimes friends or new readers send me their comments. These brief exchanges always lift me up. And when i travel, it amazes me when devotees tell me they read the blog or how they liked a particular piece. The No.1 hit was my satire on a faux GBC resolution selling samadhi plots in Mayapur. It was funny because it was pretty close to the truth. If those guys only knew how absurd they appear to the rest of the world, and especially to their godbrothers (95% of whom are no longer their "pals" in Iskcon) they would all immediately resign! They would be too embarrassed to carry on. That goes for every one of them.The fact that they are not resigning is a sign that they are shameless.

For me, out here on my own, like most of you, being able to express my thoughts in writing and instantly post them to a global audience has been a rare pleasure. But as far as i can tell, i've said everything i have to say. And reflecting on the limited time that i have in this life, i would like everyone's blessings to focus again on music. It's one of the first things i did when i started out as a brahmacari. I joined the original road show as a musician at New Vrindavan in 1971, and then i went to L.A. to work in Iskcon's first recording studio that was dedicated to preaching thru the Krishna Show and to recording and distributing Prabhupada's bhajans.

It shows just how neglectful the leaders of Iskcon are, that more than 30 years after Srila Prabhupada's disappearance, to my knowledge, there are no recording studios dedicated to kirtan. Sankirtan is music. By now, there should be 50 recording studios around the world committed to devotional music composed by devotees. Instead, Iskcon has big white elephant temples in India such as Juhu and Delhi with more on the way, and skeleton temples in North America where a handful of imported devotees keep the temples from closing. And it's not any more progressive in most of the other Gaudiya missions, with a few exceptions.

One notable exception is the mission of my godbrother, Paramadwaiti Swami. Perhaps because South America is poor, or because Iskcon failed to recognize him and kicked him out, he started his own mission where he cultivated a family spirit, promoting respect amongst devotees and between genders in his sanga. Paramadwaiti offers an example of sane leadership, a rare achievement in today's dysfunctional devotional world. Naturally, he's shunned by Iskcon.

It is a lack of basic respect for vaisnavas, a pretentious show of etiquette by grandiose leaders and the creation of an elite "upper caste" of unqualified elected gurus that has crippled the spread of Krishna consciousness. Of course, those in command will tell you how dynamic the growth has been these past 30 years. But really, what intelligent or talented person would join a society of duplicitous supervisors, petty zealots and warmhearted sentimentalists? Those who join eventually either sell out or get out. Either way, it is a failure.

It is the ultimate irony, that the movement started by the Enlightened Reformer and Bold Transcendental Pioneer, Avatari Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, has been burdened and handicapped by reactionary and conventional managers! How displeased our founder acarya must be with this result! And how painfully obvious this is to anyone who is not getting their chapatis buttered by the institution.

We, the godbrothers out there, are each in our own lifeboats now. We each must act attempting to connect our nature to the Supreme by whatever means available to us. This is not at all an easy task without association and support. Srila Prabhupada wanted us to have lots of support and association-- that was one of his primary purposes in starting Iskcon. He knew how difficult spiritual life is for neophytes. Out of his deepest compassion for us, he created Iskcon. He didn't create a bureaucracy and a politburo for a new religion! But that is how things turned out.

Prabhupada wanted us to become brahmanas. He didn't want kripanas, misers, who misuse their work for their self interest. He wanted us to work as a sacrifice for the Supreme, not for any local interest. The artificial imposition of control over devotees by ignorant leaders for their own parochial interests has spoiled Prabhupada's vision for a society of devotees!

But all is not lost. Actually, nothing is lost. Krishna consciousness cannot be checked by any infection.

One place we can always find Krishna consciousness is in the transcendental vibration of sound. Here is what Srila Prabhupada personally told John Lennon and George Harrison in 1969:

"Music -- the Vedic mantras were all through music. Sound waves are full of music....(Sanskrit verse)...."Samogha means the follower of the sound waves. Gayanti, they are always in music, through musical vibration they are approaching the Supreme. Samogha.

"Gayanti means singing. So Vedic mantras are sung. This whole Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam can be sung very nicely. And this Vedic mantra chanting, simply by hearing the vibration, people will be benefited. Even they do not understand.....

"Simply by transcendental vibration of sound, everything can be achieved."

To succeed in anything requires determination and a sea change in habits. It is not easy for an old dog to learn a new trick. But rather than being unaccountable for the days speeding by, reading the news and (the mostly) depressing opinions of those on the mental platform (including the vast majority of articles written by devotees on devotee websites), or worse, falling down into anarthas, we must learn to exercise our free will. I would like to focus my attention on developing skills in music and become absorbed in kirtan. I especially would like to study the unique kirtan style introduced by Srila Prabhupada and adapt it to a contemporary form. I don't know if i have the sakti to do this, but at least i have a desire.

If i can't become a kirtaniya in this life, i would like to die trying. Prabhupada often mentioned that we should "die with our boots on." (And with so much glory he showed us how to do that!) OK, it's not possible for us to live and die with such grace and fearlessness, but at least we can try to get our boots on! Even one boot or even half a boot! The effort will count for something.

As for this blog, i've decided to press the pause button again. Maybe it's the time of year, i don't know. I just don't want to feel obliged for now. After writing and posting 180 articles here on this blog these past two years, i've said just about everything that i have to say in the way of commentary. Anyone is welcome to read my posts and come to your own conclusions. And i encourage anyone who has anything to say, to create your own blog. It's easy-- blogspot.com, is a free service provided by Google-- and it's simple to set up. If i can do it, anyone can.

Giving and taking amongst devotees is an exchange of love. However tenuous my friendships with devotees are, i consider these friendships my most valuable asset. I would like to give a shout out to a few friends who are attempting to walk the walk. To Ananda Swarup in Amsterdam, who plays sweet Bengali bhajans on his guitar, and can tell you the word-for-word meaning of each song with precision and realization. To Vicaru, who wakes up at 4 am most mornings in his house near Kent, England, and does a complete morning program all by himself. To Rasacarya who lives alone in the northern boondocks of Holland and maintains tulasi devi nicely year round in an extreme climate. To Atma Vidya, who stays in a humble flat in Hamburg, chanting lots of rounds and translating Jaiva Dharma into German. These devotees around the world are quietly doing their seva and are inspirations to me.

May the coming year be kind to you. May the grace of God be with you in the form of insight and energy to act on the higher platform and to reach out to share this energy with others. May your long and at times tedious journey that found hope and good fortune when you met the devotees and bowed your head at the lotus feet of Prabhupada, not be checked by any obstacle. And may you experience inner felicity and peace-- by the causeless kripa of Sri Gauri Hari, Sri Nitai Ram and Srila Prabhupada.

your insignificant friend,

nava jauvana das

p.s. Despite my sabbatical from this blog, i welcome correspondence and i am always ready to respond and reciprocate as best i can. My personal email address is: jauvana@gmail.com At least, please send me your blessings.

    Scientists are amazed when newborn animals know what to do to insure safety or gather food. When sea turtles are born on the beach they immediately know that they must crawl back to the sea for safety. Two months or so after a kangaroo is conceived it must crawl from the bottom section of the mother to the safety of their mothers pouch half a meter up. In that pouch the young kangaroo stays in that pouch for many more months without leaving. How does this young entity know how to do this? How does the mother know that this must be done? The mothers and fathers of various species know how to make nests, procure food and defend itself from predators. How do the animals know how to do this? Where is that intelligence coming from?

  We can consider the explanation of intelligence as given in the vedic literatures and self-realized sages. Intelligence is defined as "the power to analyze things in their proper perspective." Based on the conclusion of the intelligence the mind initiates the senses and body into action. According to Vedic philosophy, intelligence is ultimately guided by the paramatma. In Sanskrit the word for an individual soul is atma and para means above or supreme. The paramatma is thus the Lord's personal expansion within the heart of every living entity. The paramatma accompanies every atma (individual soul) in its journey through different species of life.  According to our desires and karmic qualification the Lord directs our intelligence so that we may attempt to fulfill those desires. As stated earlier the intelligence given to the animals is limited to fulfilling the four bodily (eating. sleeping, mating, and defending.)  We can observe that those belonging to the human species have also used their intelligence to fulfill these four propensities. Since the intelligence provided to the human is remarkably more advanced than the intelligence offered to other species, the bodily needs are satisfied in a far more sophisticated manner. The atomic bomb (defending) and skyscraper buildings (sleeping, defending) are prime examples of this. Relatively noble advancements such as advanced medical care and mass communication are other examples of sophisticated application of human intelligence.

         Despite the advances in medical knowledge and technology there remains no solution to the basic problems of old age and death. There are also countless diseases that have not been conquered by medical application. On occasion when an antidote to a particular disease is discovered, a new and perhaps more deadly disease will likely take its place. The expectation of old age, disease and especially death are the root causes of human anxiety and fear. Anxiety is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “ painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind usually over an impending or anticipated ill.” Fear is similarly defined as “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.”  Disease and old age are the precursor to death. However, if we become diseased there is always the hope that we may return to a healthy state. Old age is a sobering stage as we are aware that death is just around the corner. Nonetheless in old age we are still in our bodies and may have developed valuable wisdom from life’s previous experiences. Death, however, is the point where our relationship with everything that we have accumulated and everyone that we have known in this life is permanently terminated. Your close friends and family will grieve because there is zero chance of being reunited in this world. The person undergoing the exit from his body is horrified by the unknown nature of his future existence after death. The dying living entity is forcefully taken out of his body and placed in a new situation. The ignorance of the passage of the atma after death increases this fear.

 to be continued...

Also below are some links that contain a lecture given by Radhanatha Swami in Mumbai. The events took place just a few minutes walk from the mandir. I would suggest that you listen to this class. OK?

The first link leads to the lectures given in November. The lecture that I am refering to is the last one on the list on this page (you can download from there).   The second link is a link is the page where you can listen to the lecture by the streaming method.

Nov 2008 Lectures

Friday, 12th Dec, 2008. It was show time today. We were going to the mystery gig in Black Heath. I had been on email with the Browngage grandparents and they said they were attending (Mohini, Ksana). I dropped into the morning program to hear some of Maharaja’s class. We were scheduled to head out straight after breakfast. Maharaja was reading out his latest diary entry which was going to include some parts of the Australian tour. He was first reading about Hong Kong, which he had described to us in his first arrival lecture. When it was time for him to move onto Australia Domo tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I could help in the kitchen. I reluctantly followed my duty and left the wonderful class for the kitchen. We ended up making japatis by the hundreds after a long wait for the absent cook. I probably would have gotten away with hearing the whole dairy entry before coming to the kitchen. I was rolling and then cooking. It was rotis half the time and japatis the other half. It was a wild and wacky experience. Being a totally spoiled Prince, I hadn’t rolled japatis since helping my mummy out in the childhood years. Now I was seriously doing it and seriously sucking. Not really, I did aight. After this we assembled the army and hit the mountain roads. I took the Polish party in my car with Vraja Kumari also. There was a flurry of basic polish coming out of us as there were some practice sessions in the car. The road was winding upward and was drenched in rain and covered thick in fog. The fog only increased as the temperature decreased until we reached the bleak white pit that was Black Heath. For a place named “Black” it was very “white” but I could understand the metaphor as it was curtained in darkness by the misty madness. It looked half deserted and miserable. I didn’t think there would be much of a turn out, it was hardly a day to go out. But then I realized, it was a perfect day IN. After some frantic setting up Domo sent me for a drive to the store. Vraja Kumari was casually in my car pep talking people so she just happened to come for my shopping adventures on numerous occasions. First stop was to buy out the water from the local store. I small talked about our show to stir some interest. An old lady suggested she would come just from that encounter. It’s worth it sometimes being a blabber mouth. Upon moving the car around the car park I nearly took out a silver car. The air was so thick with moister and fog that you literally couldn’t see anything without doing some serious neck stretches. We took shelter in the reception room of the hall under many heaters. All the matais crowded around one like a camp fire and I keenly placed the book table in front of the largest leg heater in the house. It was so hot that we ended up having to turn it off and I ended up being ordered to move the table anyway. None the less the reception room was totally heatin up and the rest of the town was icy cold. When the show started all the mountain people crawled out of their caves. There seemed to be a handful of normal looking folk and then a large majority of dread lock, rainbow weaved, hip hobos. It was like the unsanctioned part of the Himalayas or something. I wasn’t sure if we would be eaten or not by the hungry crowd but luckily we brought prasad so they spared us. Among the seemingly normal person there was a women who had met Prabhupada. I asked her in a round about way to describe some of his glories, for both of our benefits. Tonight was the launch of our new CD “Sounds of Le Carnaval Spirituel”. We were hoping to sell at least 22 plus to make money on our investment. All profits of the CD’s of the Sounds of Le Carnaval Spirituel would go to the sound of Le Carnaval Spirituel, and maybe lights. We were aiming to improve the free show as the days, weeks, months and years of the show went on. The show went smoothly it seemed. Everyone was pleased. When the show ended we had the biggest night by far on the book table. We sold 8 of our new Cds, making a third of our investment. On that roll we would make profit by the end of the Sydney leg. We also sold 8 Gitas and a bunch of big cook books. I was storing our book table money in little tight seal circular containers which were in the end like jack in the boxes because of all the notes. I stashed the notes in my pocket like a greedy merchant until the heat died off. We packed up and headed home after a nice sweet smooth night with the mountain folk. There was some band that some of the guys met on the street and they stayed for the whole pack up session chatting away. On the way home we were tipped off by Indradyumna Swami via mobile of a car accident. Gaura, in the van ahead typed into his GPS an alternate route and we were cruising down some gnarly back alley like streets parallel the motorway. I managed to see a white car with its bonnet totally buckled in as if it had had a head on. I had to explain the word “bonnet” to the none English speaking people in the car as I exclaimed it. After some time Gaura stopped. “There is some squeeking noise. I am a little worried.” I suggested I run along the van at slow speed and we pin pointed it to the front wheel. We still couldn’t seem to see anything wrong with the car. Eventually Gaura reversed, I swore I heard a subtle click or snap and after that we were sweet to roam with no sound. We returned well into the next day, free from the rain and fog.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------

Text PAMHO:16675543 (60 lines) From: Bhakti Visrambha Madhava Swami Date: 21-Dec-08 06:20 -0500 (22:20 +1100) To: BDC (Book Distribution Curriculum) [427] To: BDN (Book Distribution Nectar) [2808] Subject: old sp story.. ------------------------------------------------------------

Now it is the end of the marathon, and you must be exhausted. Please note that My realizations (being that I am a pujari-cook by nature) of book distribution is: you can only enthusiastically distribute the book that you personally love. Unless that book has changed your life personally, You will not be able to continue to change other peoples lives with that book for very long time. some devotees distribute for a few years, but because they only sell and don't read, they cannot continue it.

Srila Prabhupada in 1976 told us members of Radha Damodara TSKP in Mayapur during His darshana the same:

"so You are distributing the books but do you read them also?" Prabhupada asked us upon entering his room.

"Oh yes srila Prabhupada!" our sannyasi leader Tamal Krsna Maharaja (confidentally white lied!_he knew we'ld not dare speak out and challenge our sannyasi leader verbally.

yet we gave him such an incredulous look, all of us 80 boys.. it was obvious, Tamala Krsna Maharaja who was well intentionally trying to hide the fact, was not truthfully forthcoming on it.

when 80--90 boys all young say 18-20 years old. all Heard that, it was like we all crained our necks and looked at Tamal Krsna maharaja with shocking surprise,, like silently speaking "You said what???"

Srila Prabhupada was smart, clever, he could clearly understand that Tamal Krsna Maharaja was hiding the real truth, (due to intense competition from Jayatirtha in London and elsewhere).

Srila Prabhupada was Indignant with Anger...

"So you are distributing the books, and suppose you come up to me and you give me a book. and I ask you, "You are selling me this book but do you know what is written inside this book," what will you reply to him.

He wanted a reply directly from us, we got scared and kept our mouth shut.

"what will you say!!!" he demanded. Ohhh we got really scared and we didn't reply.

Srila Prabhupada's heart got soft. he didn't want to intimidate or scare his surrendered disciples, just wanted to instruct us... "nooooooooo (like the father he is) "You must readddddd!!!

then we all hung our heads downwards. reading was like sense gratification for us, we read only when there was no one to sell books to, or when wew slinkered down in between two cars to hide, if the police were looking to catch us in shopping centres.

reading? only van leaders amongst us were reading! we were selling books 9 am to p pm who's got time to read?

yet those very van leaders were the most steadfast ones' who never left Iskcon, not like the ones who don't read the books.

yours in the service of Krsna BalarAma,

TridaNDi BhikSu, Bhakti Visrambha MAdhava (Text PAMHO:16675543) --------------------------------------

------- End of Forwarded Message ------

Hare Krsna everyone. Today I just want to thank you all for the nice association I had from you all during this year of 2008. If I had to state here all my experiences in this blog, I could say it brought me much more realisations than I had in my all 16 years of Krsna consciousness. First because I could share with you all my steps and experiences with chanting, then I got purified by listening to lectures, retreats, classes and reading all in order to give you the best from senior vaisnava's realisations and teachings on japa.
I would like to thank all the wonderful vaisnavas that contributed with their writings here and also the ones who commented on our posts. Thank you for the ones who attended the Japa Room sessions and also improved in japa, overcame obstacles and for sure might have a lot to share here. Please keep on coming back in the next year and give us your rare association.
I grew so much in my devotional path because by the Lord's mercy I could experience how wonderful is to glorify the Holy Names of the Lord, how amazing is to have freedom to speak about how these names have an effect on our daily lives and also how they reciprocate with our efforts.
I am sharing here that the Holy Names of the Lord changed my life for better, brought me experiences in spiritual life that I have never had and also helped me to work on my own weaknesses and improve my personal life.
I would like to wish you all a fantastic and amazing 2009 - full of realisations with the Holy Names, full of devotional service, proper association of devotees, reciprocation from the Lord in your life and all the good things you deserve to have as good devotees and protected souls from the Lord.

Hope that Nama prabhu blesses us all with His association through another year 2009.

Hare Krsna.

your servant,

Aruna dd

Wishing you all a Happy Krishna Conscious New Year 2009!

Hare Krishna

ARCHAEOLOGISTS CONVINCED NEW FINDS DEPICT KRISHNA

Bhama Devi Ravi/TNN

Chennai: The Conch and the Sudarsana Chakra are unmistakable. Although the figures doesn't match popular images of Krishna, archaegologists are convinced that the coins depict Krishna, revered as an avatar of Vishnu.

"These square coins, dating back to 180-BC, with Krishna on one side and Balram on the other, were unearthed recently in Al Khanoun in Afghanistan and are the earliest proof that Krishna was venerated as a god, and that the worship had spread beyond the Mathura region," says T K V Rajan, archaeologist and founder-director, Indian Science Monitor, who is holding a five day exhibition, 'In search of Lord Krishna,' in the city from Saturday.

Having done extensive research in Brindavan, Rajan is convinced that a lot of the spiritual history of ancient India lies buried. "Close to 10,000 Greeks, who came in the wake of Alexander the Great, were Krishna's devotees. There is an inscription by Helidorus, the Greek ambassador at Takshila, which reads 'Deva, deva, Vasudeva. Krishna is my god and I have installed this Garuda Pillar at Bes Nagar (now in Bihar),' says Rajan.

According to him, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has unearthed many sites that throw fresh light on the era of Krishna. "ASI is expected to release the full findings next year: The findings may show that Krishna's life was the dividing line between India's spiritual history and the society's gradual shift towards a materialistic one," says Rajan.

Interestingly, a lot of what has been uncovered closely resemble the narration in the texts of Mahabharatha and the Bhagavatham, " he adds.

The advent of thermoluminous study (TL) has helped dating of artifacts. Tholavira near Dwaraka, from were many artifact were unearthed, is mentioned as the capital city in the opening chapters of Bhagavatham. Rajan points to an image of a plough, made of wood, which is mentioned in the Bhagavatham.

The findings could lay a trail to understanding Krishna's life (said to be 5,000 years ago) and times, a a historical fact, says Rajan. The exhibition will be open till Dec 31 at Sri Parvathy Gallery, Eldams Road.

-Times of India (Chennai Edition), on Saturday the 27th December 2008

Wishing all my readers a happy, peaceful and productive new year. Thanks for all your support.

Paulo from California writes:

"I need know why you don't eat eggs".

My answer:

"Well firstly, devotees of Krishna only eat foods that are offerable to God. Eggs cannot be offered to Krishna, along with meat and fish.

Why is this? Well, eggs are a form of flesh and blood - being either an embryo or the chicken's menstrual period. Menses can be considered dead flesh. It does not matter if the egg is from a chicken raised on a so-called "free-range farm" or not - this fact does not change.

Here are a few medical reasons why you'll be better off not eating eggs:

Egg yolks are high in cholesterol, a waxy substance that deposits in the liver and blood vessels. This can lead to corrosion and hardening of the arteries.

Chicken diseases are numerous, like the Avian flu. Eggs also may carry T.B. from chickens. If an infected chicken survives, it matures and lays infectious eggs. Chicken leukemia may be transmitted through the eggs also. Hens infected with white diarrhea will lay eggs containing the germs, which can be linked with collitic diseases in human beings.

Eggs are acid forming and they have excess phosphoric acid.

Both the bile and pancreatic juices are indifferent to egg white. From 33% to 50% of the egg white passes through the digestive tract undigested.

Here's some more information:

In many countries, 'free-range eggs' is not a legal industry term; therefore it is essentially meaningless. Farmers use the term to imply that they practice a more humane standard of production of eggs but, in reality, there is no regulation regarding how the word is interpreted or used. Although most consumers imagine free-range hens have access to the outdoors with plenty of sunlight, vegetation, and normal social interaction, to most egg producers, the "range" is simply a bigger cage than those in which battery-caged hens are kept.

Free-range egg farming is, above all else, a business. Consequently, profit surpasses concern for the animals' comfort, welfare, or behavioral needs. In addition, it is common for free-range layers to be debeaked just like battery-caged layers.

But even if free-range hens were treated with kindness and given all the space they could use, they will still be killed for meat when their egg production wanes, usually after one or two years, even though in a natural environment a hen could live fifteen years. And, like all other animals raised for food, they will be subjected to the horrors and abuses of transportation, handling, and slaughter.

An inherent problem with all egg production, whether free-range or battery-caged, is the disposal of unwanted male chicks at the hatchery. Because male chicks don't lay eggs and do not grow fast enough to be raised profitably for meat, they are deemed a financial liability, except for the few used as rooster studs. On average, one rooster is used to service ten hens. Hence, nine out of ten male chicks are considered virtually useless and will be killed by the cheapest means available, including suffocation and being ground up alive.

No matter what words or systems are used to 'sugar-coat' animal production, when we treat sentient beings as commodities we invariably invite abuse. The use of animals for human profit, food or gain, regardless of how they are raised or treated, is incompatible with the practice of compassionate living."

There are myriad instructions on how to chant japa. All of them serve to help us achieve success. In spite of the varied nuances and techniques, why are we plagued with anarthas, struggling to reach a semblance of nistha, from which to springboard to higher levels of attainment? With thousands of shades of advice available, it seems only a select few are privileged to be relishing the chanting. Is there a secret formula to fast-track our progress?
There is mention in the Prema-Vivarta that the all-knowing Supreme Lord is unable to fully understand His merciful extension – Sri Hari Nama prabhu. What hope is there for us? How can we ever understand Sri Adhoksaja any more than Mother Yashoda can bind her dear Sri Damodara?
Our purified hearts are portals to places like Sri Vrndavana and Sri Mayapura Dhamas in the spiritual world. Having established many temples worldwide, Srila Prabhupada and his followers have multiplied the number of portals via the Arca-Vigraha installed in the temples. Even more pervasive and merciful are the holy names, to which each and every one of us has a unique relationship as cultivated through our japa. The holy names given to us by the authorized process of diksha means that we have received everything, for everything is Sri Sri Radha and Krishna and Their expansions from whom all spiritual and material worlds emanate, BG.10.8. Our hearts being individual portals are our gateway to spiritual success.
But to unlock the gates, first we have to break down the barrier of our offence laden solidified mass of anarthas, which compound the hardness of the heart. The covering is compared to “As fire is covered by smoke, as a mirror is covered by dust….” (BG.3.38). So – ceto darpana marjanam…. is our means for accessing the entrance, while the Maha-mantra is the code. We have to be forgiven for all our unlimited violations of the wishes of Krishna.
If we chant because we have to, impelled by the order of the spiritual master, we become the doer. We time ourselves, try to improve our pronunciation, lengthen our single-minded focus on the sound, cut out unwanted thoughts, wonder how much longer it is going to take and so on.
On this level, our perseverance can reap some rewards according to our faith and surrender. The awards can be intermittent taste and realization – ye yatha mam prapadyante…. (BG.4.11). One can be habituated to remaining here, wanting to retain the status quo in social circles.
If there is a method for advancing quickly, what is it?
The beauty of it is, anyone can do it - married or unmarried, in or out of the temple, renounced or steeped in bhoga-tyaga. But one has to be prepared, because the weapon of detachment – asanga-sastrena (BG.15.3), will develop as a natural consequence of sincere chanting. One has to relinquish all sense of pride, status, position and achievement, to think oneself literally - nothing, as a beggar. Are we not moving ahead of ourselves here, perhaps running the risk of imitating great souls like Srila Gaura Kishora dasa Babaji or Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami? Not quite. It is a realistic assessment of what we really are compared to who we think we are in relation to our perception of Krishna consciousness.
A stark realization has to dawn on us. The aggregate of all the best advice, all the advanced association, the cream of all instructions, will yield meager results from chanting if we harbor even a hint of self-effort. What can we do? What are we doing? We are simply using our minute puny independence, which had the disastrous effect of making us nitya-baddha. The rest is all done by Krishna. How so? When we chant, who gives the ability to move our lips? Krishna. Who gives the strength to move our jaws? Krishna. To hold our beads? To hear the sound? To concentrate? To sit nicely? Is Krishna not Hrsikesa? Is He not the ability in man? Does Krishna not say “yajnanam japa-yajno ‘smi?” …. of sacrifices I am the chanting of the holy names [japa] (BG.10.25) and “….of science I am the science of the self” (BG.10.32) and so on. There is little doubt who is in control, and we have to let Krishna take over. How do we do this?
In the often quoted verse “sarva dharman parityajya….” Krishna exhorts us to fully surrender, while Srila Prabhupada expands on this to say “One should always think himself helpless and should consider Krishna the only basis for his progress in life” (BG.18.66 purport). One also has to be - akincana-gocaram - materially exhausted, (SB.1.8.26). By feeling helpless, it may oblige Krishna to infuse us with necessary purity of purpose.
Draupadi’s helpless appeal obliged Krishna to supply more sari to keep her dignity intact. The many attempts by Hiranyakasipu to kill his son Prahlada were always foiled as Krishna stealthily protected him. But we have to ask, these great souls were not only fully surrendered to Krishna, but they were in extreme situations? So how can we, most of whom know when our next breakfast, lunch and supper is going to be, and have roofs over our heads, and access to all amenities, feel as helpless as they? This is where fortunate devotees know of the secret to quick advancement.
Why should we feel helpless only when something supposedly goes wrong? Perhaps we are making half the advancement we could be making. If Srila Prabhupada says to “always think oneself helpless”, does that not mean we should feel utterly helpless in good times too? Without being simplistic, there could be a potential 50% gain in spiritual advancement. Furthermore, we put ourselves at the mercy of Yoga-Maya - (BG.9.13) daivim prakrtim asritah – who is after all, an expansion of Srimati Radharani in whose domain we seek entrance, and through Her kindness the Supreme Lord can become our property – ankincana-vittaya... the Lord becomes the property of the materially impoverished, (SB.1.8.27). When we are encouraged in this way, we will chant because we want to and Krishna will be pleased to allow us by taking over our faculties.
What are some of the signs of healthy chanting? We chant because we want to. Whenever we leave home or the temple to face the full glare of the material energy, a secure comforting feeling arises when we know we can take shelter of the holy names. We feel separation if we go long enough without chanting. We enjoy serving the holy names by chanting. We treat Sri Nama prabhu as a very dear friend. Sri Nama prabhu gives us knowledge and understanding. We desire to chant extra rounds. We want quality time with Sri Nama prabhu – alone. When we chant we usually feel our effort to be inadequate, why? Because the holy names are unlimited.
As we progress, sometimes devotees think they should meditate on Radha Krishna Lila while chanting; after all, Srila Prabhupada wrote Krishna book and other literature for this purpose. We have to be careful to recognize that though these topics are spiritual; our senses might not be, yet. We may project our material estimation onto them in which case it becomes a speculative exercise – vicinvan – and will cause misunderstanding, (SB.10.14.29)
Do we have experience of eternity – no time – in which these pastimes take place? Can we fathom the ongoing nature of these Lilas? Can we appreciate the interactions of the nitya-siddhas? In the meantime it is certainly no less to focus on the sound vibration which is liquefied nectar and is powerful foodstuff for our Bhakti-lata-bija. By drinking it through the ears as Pariksit Maharaja did, (SB.10.1.13) - pibantam….hari- kathamrtam – when he was on the verge of death, having given up all food and water which is difficult to do, he felt nourished. If we chant and pray that the nectar enters our heart, then we beg to qualify for –prasada-lesanugrhita – (SB.10.14.29) by which we can understand the Supreme Lord. By this time the portal will have given glimpses of the truth by granting – buddhi yogam tam – which Srila Prabhupada ingeniously translated as – understanding.
Sometimes while chanting, we may experience great happiness, or be blessed with some revelation or similar occurrence. There will be times when for prolonged periods nothing seems to happen. If this occurs, great patience is required. Krishna wants to know how sincere we are. We should never think something amazing must happen simply because we are chanting. We are beggars. And beg we must to implore Sri Nama to reveal to us our deficiencies.
Just as Srila Prabhupada said that Krishna should always be our basis in life, the holy names being Krishna Himself becomes the basis for the ultimate ongoing revelation as experienced by acaryas like Srila Hari dasa Thakur – constant darshana of Sri Sri Radha Krishna Lila as they unfold – live. If our understanding matures, and our senses become spiritual, the entrance through the portal will be automatic. Beholding the wonders of Goloka Vrndavana and the pastimes as revealed in the heart, one will have pleased both the spiritual master and Krishna as to – kirtaniya sada harih.

Your servant,

"Glory to the all merciful Radha and Madana mohana! I am lame and ill advised, yet They are my directors, and Their lotus feet are everything to me."

Over the winter break I've just been hanging out at the temple and getting back into doing deity service, it has been wonderful. I pretty much spend all morning dressing the deities. Hopefully I'll be doing more pujari service in the upcoming year. Along with more stuff at Stanford, more ISV stuff, more reading, more writing, get back into studying sanskrit, mrdanga, harmonium. I guess that means no eating or sleeping.

Thanks to my brother-in-law, the NASA Guy, and iSquint, I am finally able to upload video to YouTube. 

The great sages began to think that although a brâhmana is peaceful and impartial because he is equal to everyone, it is still not his duty to neglect poor humans. By such neglect, a brâhmana's spiritual power diminishes, just as water kept in a cracked pot leaks out.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 4 Chapter 14 Verse 41

Over on my cooking yesterday I posted about gruel, referencing the famous New Vrindavan Oat Water.

Ahhh, the memories. Not for me but for some longtime New V residents. While the stories I've heard about the oat water never sounded so yummy (and usually included phrases like, "You were lucky if you got a raisin!"), Ghosh and Soma Prabhus have different memories. And they were even gracious enough to share recipes. In quantity!

And there was no mention that the oats used were from animal feed sacks as I heard. Just see how important prajalpa niyamagraha is.

Okay...so here are the comments...for the pleasure of the Vaisnavas. May your new year be filled with devotion and oat water!


Madhava Gosh said...
"just oatwater" ?

Apparently you have never had real oatwater.

It happens to be the one thing I do know how to cook, having been the one who first made it and taught the regular cooks how to do it.

Kirtanananda told me how to do it so I did and introduced it to the other devotees.

About half the normal amount of oats to water, it was cooked for 1-2 hours at a simmer until the oats lose their form and become one with the water, creamy. A few raisins added later but soon enough that they plump up. Some ginger and a bit of salt, and a tablespoon of ghee per gallon.

"Oat water" was a bad marketing choice for a name, oat broth or cream of oats would have conveyed the idea better.

Oat water was great, not an austerity, when taken hot.

December 30, 2008 11:41 PM




Soma said...
ahhh... oatwater, it is my favorite breakfast. I would eat it everyday if i could. I have such warm memories of it. We rarely ate oat water by itself. It was used like gravy on the rice. And it was an unbelievable improvement from the previous fare. it was one part of the day that we all looked forward to. Personally i didn't like the raisins or dates in the oatwater. but because they would sink to the bottom i could just scoop it off the top and miss the raisins and dates.
anyway, i cooked the oat water for a few months in 1985. i still have the recipe that Amburisha prabhu wrote on a scrap of paper for me.
here it is;
14 gal. water
1 overflowing gal. of oats
3/4 cup of salt
2 cup rasin or dates
ginger and gee impurites if any.

(for the rice)
4 1/2 gal. rice
6 gal water(slightly less)
2 cups salt.
gee impurities if any

that's the historical recipe from 1985.

Just in time for the New Year I have figured out how to upload video to YouTube. Whoopee! This is a big moment in my life.

Unfortunately I don't have much worth sharing just yet, but the Holy Name is always a safe bet.

Here are some quick clips taken pretty soon after we moved to Alachua. My friend Gopi, who moved here from North Carolina just a couple of days after we did, as well as Premananda Gour Prabhu and his wife Mayapur Malini are all chanting away along with my family. Fun fun fun. Premananda and Mayapur left for India shortly after we moved here and have been there ever since. They are very exuberant devotees.

Okay so here is the rip roaring kirtan ;)

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

As you can see from the video, Premananda Prabhu is great at engaging the children, whom he truly loves. This is also evident from seeing his own kids, Bali and Kish, in kirtan.

Gopi (Gopiparandhana Dasi) chants super sweetly. She went to gurukula in Guyana an now her daughter attends the gurukula in Alachua.

Happy New Year to all..hoping to develop taste for the Holy Name...sweeter than....money!

The fourth verse of Upadesamrita,

"dadati pratigrhnati, guhyam
akhyati prcchati, bhunkte bhojayate caiva, sad-vidham
priti-laksanam

(Offering gifts in charity, accepting charitable
gifts, revealing one's mind in confidence, inquiring confidentially, accepting
prasada and offering prasada are the six symptoms of love shared by one devotee
and another)" is meant for devotees. Revealing one's mind is meant for
devotees, and those to whom we reveal our minds is also meant for devotees.

read more

1967 December 31: "Let us go on for Krishna's satisfaction and for the benefit of the whole world. I am confident of my future hopes in the sincere students like you; & now if I die I will die blissful, the work will go on."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1968 December 31: "They are all mundane and have no entrance into actual spiritual activities. Superficially they pose themselves as great devotees, but we can feel their pulse; ultimately they are impersonalists."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 December 31 : "London is the most important city in the world and it is my desire to see it come to full blossom under your expert management. So if the two of you take charge I will be satisfied that things are all right there."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 December 31 : "If he comes, please try to save this foolish boy. I like him very much; unfortunately he pretends now as the incarnation of St. Paul. Try to save him."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 December 31 : "You have some desire to become famous Vaisnava and jagad-guru. But Vaisnava means no material desire, what to speak of sex desire. First become without any sex desire, then think famous Vaisnava."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 December 31 : "I am convinced that if you simply glorify Krsna and our books in the best descriptive manner, than anyone, no matter even atheist, they can be convinced to purchase one of our books."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 December 31 : "Act now or Krsna may take away this golden opportunity, being disappointed by our lack of enthusiasm and labor. George is now convinced of our movement, he will pay, so why the delay and difficulty?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 December 31 : "Enthusiasm to serve Krsna is our price for entering into Krsna's kingdom. And maya is always trying to take it away - because without enthusiasm everything is finished."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 December 31 : "If the devotees become angry and leave then our work is defeated. We have to manage our men in such a way that they may bend but not break. After all, our work is purely voluntary."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 December 31: "Ultimately Ganesa Puja is not required, but if you have some sentiment to get the blessings of Ganesa in order to get huge sums of money for service of Krishna, then it can be done, but privately."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 December 31: "For the time being, continue doing what you are doing. I shall advise you. Whatever income you are getting, give to the temple. Go regularly to the temple and raise your child. There is no need of loitering here and there."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 December 31: "Stay with me, both of you are my disciples. It is my duty to guide you for spiritual advancement. Let us see what can be done for all the misunderstandings that have taken place."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 December 31: "So, make nice arrangement for all the devotees there. The principle is that we make propaganda for devotees to come. Don't ask any of them to go away. That is not our principle."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 December 31: "Sankirtana if it is not possible, never mind. Try to organize meeting and impress upon the people Srimad-Bhagavatam philosophy. This is also Sankirtana."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 December 31: "I am prepared to organize Gujarat by traveling village to village. You said that you could help me in this respect and also supply a car. So as soon as it is ready I shall accept, please let me know."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 December 31: "Thank you for your nice invitation card. Thousands of Caitanya Mahaprabhu temples may be established all over Australia so that I may receive one such invitation card at least every month."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975