Dear disciples and friends,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Here is an update of what I have been doing for the last few weeks.

After returning from Sri Vrindavana Dhama via Mauritius I spent some days in Johannesburg and then went back to Mauritius to spend about a week there with my disciples and doing some preaching programmes. Particularly I attended the Rathayatra there, in Mahebourg over the weekend of December 12-14.

It was a very nice programme, although fraught with a few problems which are typically Mauritian. Mauritius is a wonderful place and there are many wonderful devotees there, although there is a tendency among some to have a very easy going attitude which sometimes translates into a type of inefficiency.

For example, when I was there a year ago for the same Rathayatra, we were told it was going to start at 2pm and that we should be there on time. We were, but when we got there we found there was not a single person there. The place was completely deserted.

So this year we were not in such a rush to get there on time, and even though it was meant to start again at 2pm, by the time 3pm came we were still in the house of my disciple Harideva prabhu and his wife Manasi Ganga, where I was staying, and I was becoming a little anxious. Harideva phoned the devotees at the starting place and they said they were going to start in 5 minutes and that we should get there as soon as possible.

So we drive there, which was about 45 minutes or a little more, and arrived at 4pm, to find out they had started about 5 minutes before we arrived.

Such is Mauritian time!

Anyway, the Mauritian devotees are very nice indeed and I hope they don’t
feel offended when they read this. I apologize if they do.

The programme was very good, particularly on the last day, Sunday the 14th, when we took the small Deities of Radha Golokananda from the altar in the main temple in Phoenix on a boat ride. Mauritius is surrounded by a big coral reef, and inside it there is a lagoon, sometimes almost a kilometer wide, and only about 2 metres deep.

So little Radha Golokananda were placed on a swan boat which was towed behind another boat, and about 500 devotees got on about 40 other boats, and we went out into the lagoon for boating pastimes, something like when Radha and Krishna go boating on Manasi Ganga in Sri Vrindavana Dhama.

For some time we drove around here and there, and then the main boat, towing the Deities, stopped and the other boats drove around Them with kirtana. It was really very nice. Next year the idea is that each boat will approach the Deities’ boat and offer bhoga and then arati, and then distribute the prasadam. It is going to be ecstatic!

The rest of the time I visited some Nama Hattas and did even programmes with them, which is something I always enjoy doing.

I arrived back in South Africa on 19th and did an evening programme at the house of Anil and Sheena, a nice couple from Durban, and then on Saturday the 20th we went to Pietermaritzburg, about an hour’s drive from Durban, and took part in a Deity installation at the house of Krishna Prasada and his wife Radhika Prasada,

As usual it was a wonderful programme, and particularly the kirtana was great. At one point I got a little carried away and dived onto the devotees who then carried me around over their heads! Perhaps I should be a little more conservative in my older age!

On Christmas Day, the 25th I flew to Cape Town for the annual Rathayatra there, which was to be on the 26th. It was a smaller programme than previous years, with maybe 400 people attending. After that I stayed on in Cape Town, working on my latest DVD, of festivals I’ve attended this year in the former Soviet Union, and then I returned to Durban on the 31st for the annual New Year’s Even festival in the Phoenix temple, New Jagannatha Puri.

(One note: there is a Phoenix in Durban, where we have a big temple, and there is also a Phoenix in Mauritius, which I’ve referred to above, where we also have a fairly substantial temple.)

Before the programme I made my yearly visit to the house of Madhumangala prabhu, a disciple of Partha Sarathi Maharaja I have known for many year.  This was the 12th time in a row that I’ve been to his house on New Year’s Eve.

We went to the temple just before 7pm and took part in the final part of a 24 hour kirtana the Phoenix youth group had been having, and then we got into the main programme. I gave a class based on Bhagavad Gita 9.14:

satatam kirtayanto mam
yatantas ca drdha-vratah
namasyantas ca mam bhaktya
nitya-yukta upasate

“Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.”

There’s a practice in the western world of making New Year’s resolutions in which people vow to improve themselves and live better lives etc, but generally nobody fulfills them, and it all ends up being a bit of a joke. But I stressed that in Krishna consciousness it is natural to take vows - after all we take vows when we are initiated, and in general devotees maintain high personal standards and are trying to advance and become more purified and serious in their devotional service.

So I suggested to the devotees that they could consider what might be a reasonable vow they could take. They should review how they’ve done for the last year, and see what direction they would now like to go in, and what particular qualities they might like to develop, and then pray to Srimati Radharani and Lord Krishna to help them work in those directions.

The highlight is always the harinama, and this year was no exception. We’ve been doing the New Year’s Eve programme every year since the new millennium came in, and each time I have led the harinama from beginning to end. But this time Madhumangala started leading it, and I only took over after about 15 or 20 minutes. He was in very ecstatic form and the devotees were chanting and dancing in ecstasy. Then I took over and Madhumangala was dancing wildly amongst the other devotees. At one point he got so carried
away that he collapsed and we were afraid that something had happened to him, but then he got up an continued.

Later other devotees led the kirtana, and particularly Gaura led very nicely.

About 500 devotees went out at about 10pm for almost 2 hours, arriving back at the temple around midnight for the midnight arati and kirtana.

So now it is January 1st 2009. on Monday the 5th I’m flying to Vilnius, Lithuania, for the annual winter festival there with BB Govinda Maharaja and Bhakti Nrsinga Maharaja from South Africa. I will let you know in a while what happens there.

Hoping this meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,

Bhakti Caitanya Swami

Hare Krsna everyone. Recently I went to my Gurudeva's site www.girirajswami.com and there were some holiday bhajans, one of them is very sweet and it is a song from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur. This bhajan #4 is a song called Kabe Ha'be Bolo which describes the wish to chant the Holy Names with taste, so I am sharing with you the amazing translation of it.

Kabe Ha'be Bolo - from Saranagati

Written by: Chayadevi (Balabhadra's Wife)

Dear Maharajas and Prabhus,

Please accept our humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

We would like to thank all of you for your phone calls, messages and prayers. It means a lot to Balabhadra.I will try to explain as simply as possibly what has been happening with Balabhadra's health.

Balabhadra has always had back problems for over 40 years
(he is approaching his 63 birthday in April). He was always able to get over any flare ups and continue to physically work very hard. His whole life has been full of physical work and in his devotee years (initiated in 1969) mostly centered on farm life and the cows. This last year has been different. He has collapsed about four times and his recovery has been slow, like two weeks or more for each collapse. His visits to doctors, MRI, etc. revealed herniated disks, moderate spinal stenosis and some other deterioration but nothing that was considered an emergency surgery candidate. Some meds, instructions how to go about his activities, and physical therapy was recommended. At the same time it was found that the pain he was experiencing in his left knee was a result of very little cartilage on one side of the knee. Because he was favoring the other knee this was also negatively affecting his back problems.

Five weeks ago he was in physical therapy to strengthen his left knee and felt a tinkling and burning in his right leg. He told the therapist and was told to work through it. The following day he could not walk, the pain in his right leg was so severe. We went to the emergency room and were told he sprained his knee and the pain should decrease in a few days. The next five weeks were spent trying to get the state clinic we are a member of to understand this is not a sprain because the pain is severe and not getting less intense. After being prescribed more meds, we were told they could do nothing for us. The third week we then tried an acupuncturist who gave Balabhadra some relief but was scheduled to go on vacation for the next two weeks. The acupuncturist felt positive he could relieve the pain with more treatments.

Last Tuesday we were able to get a treatment at the acupuncturist and for the first time in five weeks Balabhadra could lay in bed without constant pain. We were very happy thinking we were on the right path to recovery. The past five weeks he had been bedridden, his only activity trips to the bathroom which is about 15 feet away from the bed. The pain became most intense when standing upright. Then Wednesday night he went to the bathroom and I heard a loud noise, as if something was knocked over. I opened the bathroom door and found him lying on the floor, his forehead bloody. He fell and hit his head on the ceramic floor. He was conscious and I tried to help him move back to the bedroom. Halfway there he began to slowly fall from me onto the floor. On the floor his neck began to arch and his eyes began to roll to the back of his head. He was moaning and he seemed to be leaving me and this world.

From caring for dying cows and other animals, this is what I have seen before the soul leaves the body. I started lightly slapping him and calling to him, he came back to consciousness and I called 911, turned up the volume of the Prabhupada bhajan tape we had playing and gave him rescue remedy. At one point he began to lose consciousness again but by talking to him he stayed conscious.

The ambulance came and brought us to the hospital where he was hooked up to a lot of wires and drips and monitors. It was decided he should stay overnight since some of the readings were questionable. The next morning we were told the blood tests indicated he had a heart attack and it was ongoing. That was why they were checking on him constantly and readjusting all the drips. It was a mild heart attack and his heart was not damaged. Eventually the heart would stabilize or something bad would happen. We were told that people who have this type of heart attack usually have one again within 6 months, and then it might be more severe. It was decided that he needed a procedure (angioplast ?) in which the doctor goes in through a vein in the groin and takes pictures of the heart to see if and where any blockage might be. In the meantime the blood tests found that there is something not quite right with his liver.

His heart stabilized by the following morning (yesterday) and he had the procedure. Problems were found which needed some consultation with the expert cardiologist in the area. We are now waiting to hear what the doctors recommend as to the next step for his heart, more test results on what is up with his liver, and a report from the neurologist as to what is causing the pain in his left leg and hip.

The good news is that since the one treatment by the acupuncturist he has been off most of the meds for his leg pain and is experiencing far less pain in his leg and hip. His heart remains stable and he is off the drips. The other good news is that he is hearing from devotees their concern and that they will pray for him. He is still in the hospital and has been receiving calls at (304) 843 3301. You can also write him a note at iscowp@earthlink.net and I will print it out and give it to him. It really does mean a lot to him when he hears from the devotees. We are now just waiting for information. It may be a few days as it is the weekend and a holiday here.

Balabhadra is realizing he is at a crossroads in his life. He no longer has the facility to be the workaholic "earthworm" and has to now become a "bookworm." With your prayers and blessings and Krishna's desire he will recover and in the years to come will engage himself more in speaking about cow protection with the purpose to encourage others and fulfill his eternal debt to Srila Prabhupada who has saved us all.

Your servant,Chayadevi (Balabhadra's wife)

Until you decide what you want even God cannot help you achieve it.

Reading my new years post I couldn't help but hear the pessimistic chorus in my head, or that that I fear is out there in the blog world. The voices of mockery. "Yeah right, you can't possibly be that perfectly happy," I hear. Can such happy things really be happening to me? Sometimes I feel that it is in my devotee make-up to expect distress in this tragic material world, that something doesn't feel quite right if things are working in my favor. I feel like happiness and contentment are Maya's veil, and that I'm just not really realizing the distressing nature of this world which is dukhalayam ashashvatam, if I feel satisfied.

But as I ponder these thoughts, the voices of optimism and siddhanta actually speak through. A devotee only wants to serve, whether that is in the material world, heavenly planets, hell, or Goloka. Fear is what compels me to want to return to Goloka, to get out of this tragic place. But that is simply the desire for liberation, a palsy desire for one aspiring for prema. It is actually something so distasteful, that true bhakas spit on that desire. Actually, true devotees have Goloka consciousness, so that they are joyful and satisfied in whatever sphere they are in.
I don't ascribe to the thought that this world is simply a prison house, and we are all doomed from our one true sin. To me this sounds more like Christian thought, an Adam and Eve scenario.

So though my life feels ideal right now, I know at times distress will also be upon me. I also know that gratitude can keep me happy in whatever circumstance in life I am in. My life is what it is from grace. Gratitude for that grace is my right, my natural obligation. And when I put myself in a position of gratitude then I feel more happines, more abundance, more grace. I know that my blessings and good life are to be shared. How will I impact the sankirtana movement? How will I share my happiness and grace?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! Happy 2009!!!

I am very excited about this year. A new year is motivating for me, I feel like it's a clean slate, and opportunity to see the year ahead and what I want accomplished. Here is my list of resolutions that I wrote yesterday on the airplane coming home from a vacation in Wisconsin.

*Budget my income and keep track of my expenses.
*Personal sadhana everday.
*Send cards and/or call my extended family on their birthdays.
*Do not gossip about people.
*Once a month invite people from my community for dinner.
*Blog at least twice a week.
*Regulation, evening home program, grocery shopping day.
*Dinner menu made for the week.
*Save money each month for travel fund and emergency fund
*Donate each month to Gurumaharaj

Things that I want to happen in 2009

*Grand-opening of dance studio
*Fundraiser dance recital with the whole school
*Go to San Fransisco and L.A. Ratha-yatras and 20th Anniversary Gurukula Reunion
*Get uniforms and new costumes for dance school
*Get t-shirts and hand bags with dance school logo made for fundraising.
*Have a girls dance camp this summer
*Have vegetable, herb, and flower gardens at home.
*Help create an inspired, attractive, and dynamic New Goloka community.

I wrote a list of things I wanted to do in 2008 and am going to assess how I did. Making resolutions at the new year is only powerful in so much that those resolutions are acted upon.

*be more conscious of my impact on the environment (don't buy plastic, find out where the stuff I buy is from, buy more locally, walk when I can, grow more of my own food)

I eliminated using plastic or paper bags at grocery stores. In the summer I worked for Ramdas so that I could get organic, locally grown produce. I am more aware of how much stuff I use is from China. I don't walk places very much at all. I drive a lot, and shopping locally, ironically, is too expensive for me.

* get up early and chant before kids awake
I have wanted to do this for about 8-years now, and it is one of the hardest things for me, early rising. Until I go to bed at 9:00 or 9:30pm, I won't be able to rise as early as I would like.

* keep in touch with long distance friends
Myspace and facebook have helped with this. Calling and talking personally is much nicer though. I'd like to do that more often.

* study scripture regularly
I did read the first volume of C.C. last year. Not regularly though.

* have family home morning program
Not very successful.

* do yoga
:0(

* take my vitamins everyday
I got a weekly pill container, and did take my vitamins most days.

* drink lots of water
Lots is too ambiguous.

* buy fresh flowers for our Deities every week
Did not do this.

* plan out dinner menus for the week
Oh, here it is again. My constant desire for menu plans.

* have one birth doula client a month
I had four births last year, definitely not one a month. But I did get my postpartum doula training, and got hired by Triangle Mothercare, a postpartum company.

* start going to dance classes for myself in Greensboro
I did do this, but now the roles have changed. I go to Greensboro once a week, but now to teach.

* have a girls party/outing at least once every two months with girlfriends
I'm still sorely wanting this.

* take a class for myself twice this year (pottery, expressive writing, or photography)
No classes. Still want to do photography, and now quilting too.

* be kind
I try.

* don't gossip or criticize others
Again here it is. Working on that.


And lastly here are the highlights of 2008 for me. It was a great year. I feel so blessed to be in Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Sankirtana movement, to have the opportunity to serve Sri Sri Radha-Golokananda and Srila Prabhupada at the New Goloka temple, to have a spiritually accessible Guru, to have an amazing group of friends, to have a loyal, kind and supportive family, and abundance, health, and beauty in my life.

Here are the highlights, the memorable events that I'd like to look back on when thinking about 2008.

The opening of the Gaura Vijay Mandir at my Gurumaharaj's Audarya Ashram.
Having a family reunion on my father's side of the family.
Chosing Emerson Waldorf School as my childrens' school, and feeling so happy, settled, and pleased with their teachers, surroundings, and education. It is a true blessing, as their education is a huge commitment and worry for me.
Visiting Kansas and seeing Kristina, and my devotee family in Lawrence, and seeing my dance teacher Hema Sharma in Wichita was awesome. Cooking for the wedding there with my father as a father/daughter team was also amazing.
Teaching at the Artscenter summer camp, and holding 3 of my own summer dance camps.
All of Prema Natya Vidyalaya's dance performances for the year, particularly Dasavatara on Nrisinghadeva's Appearance Day, and Damodarastakam for Govardhana Puja.
Buying our first house and renovating, painting, and decorating it. We love it!
Nandulal's birth was a magical day for me.
Starting the "It Takes a Village" afterschool program is something that is very close to my heart, and to see the children all learning about Krsna and serving together is so special.
Falling in love with my husband, again.

Cheers to an amazing new year!

We ensured that everything went well on the streets. Some devotees were deputed to ensure that we didn’t block the path of people who used the sidewalk. They also ensured that we didn’t venture out into the traffic in our efforts to click photos and be in the front.

Many of them took the responsibility of seeing that we stopped at major intersections and waited for the right traffic signal before we crossed.

I am a big fan of Krishna Graja prabhu, the most photogenic devotee at the temple, a great kirtan leader and a bit naughty. When I first stepped into the Melbourne temple, I used to relish in watching him do the pujari (priestly) work, clean the temple floors, singing in beautiful variations, pull the legs of junior devotees and offer advice on many issues. He always has a nice smile. When he took charge on the streets today, everybody went wild !

I must say that the matajis who were right in front of the yatra were the best of dancers. And many of the street onlookers couldn’t take their eyes of them, scanning their Indian outfits and the big smiles.

They kept an eye out for the best places to get their coordinated dance steps. Here they are in front of StarBucks cafe. I could see many coffee drinkers immediately pull out their cameras.

Ciranjeev prabhu got the dancing devotees to dance more, guiding them with his own moves. He held a strong kirtan in front of the church as we waited for the traffic lights to change.

Rasanandini mataji was more energetic that me. I thought I was all over the streets taking photos. Nope. She ran, climbed and hid to get as many images as possible. I think she will be posting her collection on the Melbourne temple website soon.

I could see so many people wonder what was in the chariot as it moved past them. Many of the onlookers got close to the deities to get a better photo.

This prabhu was the most enthusiastic on the roads. Like a grasshopper, he jumped here and there, yelling “Hari Hari !!”. He was also the subject of many stares and photos.

The matajis were over the moon when they got their chance to carry the chariot. The best part about them was that they carried on with their dancing even while carrying the chariot…not wild ones but nice smooth moves.

Many devotees used the dirty streets to pay obeisances on the streets. Others hungrily walked over to the moving chariot to touch the little Lotus Feets of the Lords, hidden somewhat amongst the flowers.

Every now and then, besides taking photos, I was also looking for a chance to touch the feet but more importantly a chance to carry the chariot. It wasn’t happening! There were many devotees who waited eagerly for the precious moments. And I didn’t want to budge in and carry it for my own selfish motives. Who could I go and ask? Everybody were in an ecstatic mood. I didn’t want to intercept their activity. But I want to carry ! So sad. Anyways, I thought to myself that at least I got a chance to make it to the festival and taking these photos could be somewhat of a small service I can do. Maybe, when I attend the temple more often and work hard seriously like all these devotees around me, I will get a chance too. With that motivation, I assumed the monkey form and began jumping here and there in front and beside the procession to take more snaps.

Before I knew it, we had made a complete circle from the starting point. And preparations were being made to carefully load the deities back into the back of the temple van. The Lord had finished His task of showing Himself to the public on the streets for the year. And there went my chance of carrying Him too. 

As I walked beside the van to take more photos of the deity being loaded, I ended at the drivers seat. It was Adrian. We had just spent the past 4 days with him in catering for a rock show (post coming soon).

Me : “Can I take a snap of you?”
Adrian : “Sure“
And I take the above picture.

Me : “Can I get in to take a snap of the deity being loaded?”
Adrian : “Sure“
By the way, Adrian doesn’t talk much. A few words here and there. But its always clear. I climb in and I start clicking away.

Me : “Is the van now going back to the temple?”
Adrian : “Yes…any minute now…”
Me : “Who is sitting with you here?”
Adrian : “I have no idea…but I need to get out of here quickly…there’s much traffic behind“
Me : “Ummm…can I…like accompany you…I mean I can take more snaps…and that too with your camera….”
Adrian : “Sure“

WoooooHooooo !!! Hooray !!!!!!!! I get a chance to be with the deities !!! How about that !! I proceeded to give Adrian a satisfactory hug.

Adrian : “I think it would be a good idea if you fasten your seatbelt instead…we are leaving…”

And with that we zoomed out of Swanston Street. I turned and began to talk a few more shots.

There were only 7 passengers in the van. Adrian, Bhaktin mataji, Rasanandini mataji (in pic), myself and our beloved Lord Jagannath, Lady Subadra and Lord Baladev. Rasanandini mataji slowly fanned the Lords the entire way. I put on a nice melodious kirtan of BB Govinda Swami from my iPod which I had downloaded the day before. It was a nice, peaceful trip.

Few minutes later, we reached the temple. Just as I got down, so happy with the opportunity to have ridden with the Lords…Rasanandini mataji asked around: “We need someone to help carry Lord Jagannath back to the altar.”

What? Say that again….you are looking for someone to carry the Lords…and there is no one….

WooHoooo !! Hooray !!

Me : “Me, Me mataji….I am Manoj…I can carry mataji…please….”

With that I threw my shoes away and quickly took the right side of the chariot. Adrian prabhu took the back section and 2 other devotees took the left side of the chariot. I was now carrying. I got my chance. I was thinking how merciful Lord Jagannath is. Just an intense desire to serve in some capacity bears so much opportunities for a devotee…even if he is a useless one like me.

Right from the van, past the temple compounds, into the temple room and back to the altar area, I carried Him with others. I was happy. Very Very Very Very Very happy ! I could see visitors and devotees fall in front to pay their obeisances. I was giving some instructions from the front informing the others when to go low to avoid overhead branches, when the steps to the temple began, informing them of prostrated devotees in the front etc.

Then Bhaktin mataji carefully and very lovingly transferred the little deities back into the altar room. And I watched with a huge, big and massive smile. My heart was full of glee. What a perfect way to finish the holidays.

Then we took the empty chariot of the Lords into the theatre room and carefully placed them in the theatre room where a large portrait of His Holiness Jayapataka Swami was present. After paying obeisances, we moved out of the room.

WoW !!! What an experience ! I got what I wanted so badly. Now, it was time for the arrival of the devotees from the city and then prasadam !!!

Once the devotees from the city procession arrived together at the temple, there can only be one possibility - kirtans, quick drum beats, dancing ! Here you can see all those present jumping up and down with their hands up in the year.

Once the kirtan finished, there was a quick scramble to get the best position in the line for prasadam. We knew it would be a feast. As we waited, we could see devotees carry subjis, pooris, cakes, gulab jamuns, water melon drinks, rice and desserts. Then seated amongst the young Melbourne devotees, I honoured the food with much gratitude and without talking finished everything !

My heartfelt thanks to all the devotee cooks again who couldn’t attend the yatra but spent cooking all these delicacies. My deepest thanks to all the devotees and kirtaneers who gave everyone a chance to participate in this wonderful event. But I would also like to take the time to thank Srila Prabhupad who inaugurated the Lord Jagannath Ratha Yatra in the lands outside of India. As well as his special devotees who assisted him much. Very much. And its our duty, I feel that we always remember their efforts rather than our own.

The first Ratha Yatra was held in 1967 at San Francisco, USA. Srila Prabhupad had organized his followers to arrange for a chariot to deliver the Lordships out onto the streets of San Francisco. Shyamananda and Jayananda prabhus constructed the first 2 1/2 ton chariot which allowed the westerners to have a glimpse of the Lords for the very first time. An important event in the history of earth. The above poster was designed by Haridas prabhu with simple sentences :

“The Rathayatra Festival of India, a sacred celebration in worship of the Supreme Lord, Krishna, will be enacted Sunday, July 9, for the first time in the western world. People and cars meet at 1 p.m. at corner of Haight and Lyon to form a processional to the sea. There will be 8 days of festivities, chanting, dancing and feasting on ocean beach. All are welcome to this joyous event!”

You can watch the video of this first yatra at
http://krishnatube.com/video/33/Rathayatra-1967-with-Jayananda

“The Ratha Yatra festival was performed with great pomp. More than five hundred people followed the procession to the beach, and there were about two dozen cars. They distributed thousands of chapattis and at last Sri Jagannatha, Subhadra and Baladeva, kindly came to stay in our house.” — Srila Prabhupada (in a letter)

Their Lordships Jagannatha, Subhadra and Balaram aboard a bright yellow Hertz Rent-a-truck. Within the next ten years, Srila Prabhupada held Ratha Yatra festivals in major cites around the world.

Second “thanks” to Malati Devi Dasi for having walked into an import store and discovering the “3-inch wooden dool with a flat head, a black, smiling face, big round eyes, stubby figure, forward-jutting arms and a simple green and yellow torso with no visible feet“. And then later on Srila Prabhupad’s command running back with her husband Syamasundara Das to the store to fetch Lady Subadra and Lord Baladev as well.

Third would be Syamasundara Das who was asked to carve the first ever 3 foot high copies of the little 3 deities. Based on the details he received from Srila Prabhupad, he carved the intended size from 3 large hardwood blocks in his balcony.

And there was one special devotee who made the actual ratha yatra possible.

Although a mechanical engineer by degree, he worked as a taxi driver. He never fitted into the rat race and did not consider himself as very religious. However, he came across and article on Srila Prabhupad and decided to “check him out”. After listening to the lecture and buying some volumes of Srimad Bhagavatham, Jayananda continued with his visits, chanting, singing, honoring prasadam, performing Deity worship, buying supplies, helping new devotees, taking the trash out, cleaning the kitchen etc. He would often remark, ‘Krsna consciousness is so sweet“.

He worked hard and gave his earnings to Srila Prabhupad for his mission. In fact, in the “Nectar of Devotion” book, Srila Prabhupad thanks Jayananda, “I beg to acknowledge, with thanks, the contribution made by my beloved disciple Sriman Jayananda Brahmacari ”.

Srila Prabhupada had an intense desire to organize a ratha yatra. And that’s where Jayananda would contribute every inch of his determination to please his guru and in turn please the rest of the world. Starting with a basic truck, he put together a chariot with whatever help he could get. He also took the responsibility of getting the permits, the publicity and even bake pies for the police and officials he interacted with. He would sleep with the chariots he built and often slept little to finish the tasks that lay ahead. He knew only 2 truths - Krishna and Srila Prabhupad. And he wanted to give them to the people as much as he could till he passed away.

Srila Prabhupad often expressed his deep gratitude for Jayananda. When he passed away, Srila Prabhupad instructed that his photo be carried on one of the chariots at every ratha yatra.

I am sure that Srila Prabhupad is looking at Jayananda Dasa and all those early devotees who put their heart and soul to kick start the first ratha yatra right down to us Melbourne temple devotees and saying,
“Thank You Very Much“.

      

 

The day before we left South Africa, we had our final kirtan concert at the Bikram Yoga Studio in Randburg, another suburb of Johannesburg, not far from where we were staying.  This concert was quite different from the others. The setting was less formal, and the audience was made up of a more varied crowd, many of whom loved kirtan, but weren’t necessarily part of the Hare Krishna community. For Gaura and the others, the setting of a yoga studio is perhaps the most common for their US kirtan performances, but for me, this was a first time experience. (more…)

One way to help us realize "I am not this body" is to remember that
forgetfulness generally happens when we change bodies. Actually the body is
constantly changing, so we're constantly forgetting. But the reason we can't
remember past lives is because we have completely changed bodies.

A great
way to explain this is as follows. When I dream vividly, I think it's real.
Therefore I am totally forgetting that I'm the body lying in the
bed.

Near death experiences and other out of body experiences are also

read more

I’ve been trying to come up with some more recipes lately. I have one for pasta sauce that I’m pretty certain of, as well as one for pizza sauce (it’s different, you know?). I’m also working on one for Szechuan sauce.

The reasons are several (most of ‘em federal)¹. Firstly, I do my best to cook without onions or garlic (keeping in the Vaisnava tradition). Also, if I make it myself, I know it doesn’t contain wacky stuff I’d rather not eat. And it’s just fun.

One of the problems with some recipes is that they call for whole tomatoes, which are often expensive and hard to get. On the other hand, some recipes call for prepackaged ingredients. My recipes fall in between that. No prepackaged spices (and thus no garlic, etc), but I used canned tomatoes. They’re cheaper and I know how to work with them.

Here we go!

Ingredients:
1 28oz can of diced Italian tomatoes
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 c TVP
1/4 c olive oil
4 dried chipotle peppers
1/2 t hing
1 carrot (cut up on largish chunks)
2 T butter (of the vegan variety)
1 t basil
1 t sugar
1/2 t black pepper
1/2 t marjoram
1/2 t oregano
1/2 t salt
2 T nutritional yeast
2 bay leaves

And here’s how to play along…

prep - open the cans, mix the spices and soak the tvp
1) Oil in pan and fry the hing and the dried peppers and fry for a minute (careful they don’t explode - seriously). Add the TVP and fry for another minute Add the carrot and fry for yet another minute.
2) Add the whole can of tomato chunks and fry for another minute (it’ll be more like boiling at this point).
3) Add butter and spices, frying for a bit more - not long (again, more like boiling).
4) Add crushed tomatoes, nutritional yeast and bay leaves.
5) Mix and let cook for at least 30 minutes.
6) To serve, remove carrots, peppers and bay leaves.

People like to do different things with pasta sauce. Some like it spicy or smoky (I like it both, thus the chipotle peppers). Play around with it and make it your own.

1. Couldn’t resist a PE reference, you know…

1972 January 3: "I am the only one in India who is openly criticizing, not only demigod worship and impersonalism, but everything that falls short of complete surrender to Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 3: "This we must declare boldly to the whole world. My Guru Maharaja never compromised in His preaching, nor shall I - nor should any of my students."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 3: "So with full faith in Krishna and Spiritual Master, push on this work with full force. We have got a great mission to fulfill, and these books and magazines are the torchbearers of Truth which can save the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 January 3: "Let any man see our devotees working so hard for Krishna, then let anyone say that they are not better than many millions of so-called yogis and transcendentalists, that is my challenge."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 3 : "Just go on preaching His message. Remain always without anxiety for destination and comfortable situations, always relying only on the mercy of Krishna for your plan."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 January 3 : "You are trying your best especially even though the weather is cold you are emphasizing Sankirtana book distribution. So that is very important and that is why we are opening Centers."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 January 3 : "Keep strong by following the spiritual practices as I have taught them and do not unnecessarily add anything; otherwise, everything will automatically degrade."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 January 3 : "Swami has left our camp. He has his own plans. He has violated our rules and regulations and thus fallen down from the spiritual platform. Under these circumstances, please do not act under his advice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

This post is about Ethics from Bhagavad-gita.

If you scanned the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita looking for the verse where Krishna explains the difference between "Doing the Right Thing" and "Pretending to Do the Right Thing" you were probably surprised when you couldn't find it.

I scanned it and I couldn't find it. I could, however, remember writing about it in a commentary on the second chapter that I wrote while I was in Ecuador in 2001, pre-9/11.

I dug around and found it - it's old school, written on paper with a pen.

Here's the relevant section, picking up from 2.37:

2001 "Ecuador" Gita Commentary

Krishna has now redirected Arjuna's compassion to the spiritual platform, removing the conflict between this and Arjuna's duty. He has at once validated Arjuna's compassion (2.11) and his varnashram duty.

Krishna then proceeds to demonstrate that there is no conflict between varnashram duty and material enjoyment, as Arjuna had presented. Arjuna's presentation was more the product of his compassion, an attempt to justify his not fighting on other terms than a serious analysis of the situation, as revealed by the exchange in 2.2-2.4. Krishna has now finished with that presentation. "Even if you are after enjoyment, following your duty is the way to get it, so fight"

In text 38, Krishna answers Arjuna's concern about incurring sinful reactions for his actions. The answer lies not in some pop notion of sin, based on sentimentality, but in performing one's duty in a particular state of consciousness - without calculation such as Arjuna has made [ed: emphasis added 2009]. Krishna has shown that varnashram duty is not incompatible with either compassion or material enjoyment, the two objections that Arjuna raised. Now he is signalling that sinful activity arises when one makes calculations which, due to a lack of knowledge, contradict one's duty and thus one deviates from his dharma [ed: emphasis added 2009]. In order to avoid this, one should simply carry out his duty without considerations of factors.

Note that this does not advocate blind following. Krishna has demonstrated the superiority of dharma over Arjuna's faulty calculations in this specific case, and now he lets it be known that this is also the general rule.

Although here it is not stated whether one receives sinful reactions simply by carrying out one's duty in a calculative fashion, or by calculating one inevitably deviates from his duty, Krishna will explain this in the balance of the chapter* [ed: see the 2009 commentary on this point, below]. This calculating mentality arises from attachment to the results.

2.39: "O Arjuna - thus far I have minutely analyzed the situation according to so many constituent factors (sankhya), and the conclusion is that you should fight. Now I will give you the general rule, the holistic approach that does not rely on specific factors, and which produces the same result. I have proved the specific case, now I will give the general rule."

or

"I have explained this in an analysis that relied on your material desires. Now I will explain it in terms of an approach that does not rely on your material desires, and that allows you to become free from the reaction of activity"

Summary and Analysis of Krishna's Instructions on Buddhi-Yoga

In this section Krishna is doing two things - he is instructing Arjuna in how one can follow his dharma without being deviated, or in other words without incurring sin. He also answers Arjuna's deeper concern: the fact that the promise of sense gratification in the heavenly planets is no longer sufficient to keep him on the path of dharma. Due to this, Arjuna requires a higher consideration to motivate him, and Krishna explains how the two are one - it is precisely the attachment to the fruitive results promised by the Vedas as an inducement to follow dharma that leads one to the calculative mentality that inevitably causes one to deviate. Without coming to the crisis point Arjuna has come to, one cannot discover the true purpose of dharma.

In other words, Arjuna has tired of karma, and through speculative knowledge (jnana) was seeking to renounce action.

2.41 Those working with resolute intelligence have only one goal - to discharge their duty. Those with irresolute intelligence have many goals in terms of the different superficial results of their duties. They are attached to the results, not to the duty. Thus when duty and a desired result diverge, they deviate from dharma.

* Some 2009 commentary on Motivation and Sin

I now have a thought about whether sin is incurred when following dharma with a calculative mentality, or attachment to the result. I think it is.

I have a thought experiment for you, arising from two things that I've studied since 2001. One is the compulsory ethics training that all employees, associates and managers alike, at my work must take each year. This year we had a module named "International Bribery and Corruption". It was quite a laugh to receive a certificate in this subject. The other thing is Transparency International's "Confronting Corruption: The Elements of a National Integrity System"

Anyway, think about this scenario:

You work in an office where vehicle registrations are issued. The cost of a vehicle registration is officially $100, but due to rampant corruption officials in the registry are able to charge $150 or more. You routinely charge people higher than the standard price.

I don't think that anyone has trouble identifying this as corrupt behavior.

One day your friend comes in. Rather than charge him $150 you charge him $100. Is that a corrupt action?

YES. Although you are charging him the official amount, your action is part of a pattern of corrupt behavior, where you preferentially treat personal friends. Therefore this action, while appearing to conform with official standards, is also corrupt.

That sentence above is the kind of explanatory sentence that will appear after you answer the multichoice yes/no in the online ethics training.

I've thought a lot about this, and right now I think this is correct. The person charging $100 to a friend is not Doing the Right Thing. They are Pretending to Do the Right Thing. There is a difference, and it is noted by the universe.

The inverse of this example / thought experiment is also illustrative: you are a sheriff who lets his friend get away with murder. Then when you are punishing some other criminal you are still not Doing the Right Thing, you're just Pretending to Do the Right Thing. Again, your pattern of behavior is corrupt, and this action is part of that pattern.

The terrible thing about this is that in a corrupted system all actions are essential corrupt, even those that superficially appear to be the Right Thing. If the fundamentals are askew, it is not possible to Do the Right Thing, ever. Thus we have personalities like Duryodhana, who, even while superficially appearing to follow dharma, are completely deviated.

Today I struggled like a little girl in the Bikram class. Actually, girls are quite flexible, and I'm not, so I'm using that as a manly metaphor for having difficulty.

Last night I slept 7 hours, from 11pm - 6am. I went to bed so late because I waited up for Adam to arrive from Sydney, and then had prasadam with him and Prem, Vraj, and Josh.

The night before I also slept 7 hours, but from 7.30pm - 2.30am. And that day I did two classes, back-to-back, like I was drinking a glass of water.

The conclusion? As any Ayurvedi will tell you - the hours before midnight are worth twice those after in terms of sleep.

Maha-mantra wrote me a while back with this gem:

Oil massage is medicine for the vata body type,
Exercise for the pita body,
and Sleep for the Kapha.

My body type is a combination of pita and kapha, so I need to do hard exercise and sleep. My New Year's Resolution for 2009 is to get more quality sleep. Pretty spiritual, huh?

By Madri dasi

H.H. Bhakti Charu Maharaja arrived at about 9pm on 31 December 2008 at The Oliver Tambo International Airport, which was previously known as The Johannesburg International Airport. The Airport has gone through major renovations. A group of enthusiastic devotees gathered half and hour earlier in anticipation of Maharaja’sarrival. Nrsimhananda Prabhu sang kirtan and all the devotees were dancing and chanting much to the amazement of the onlookers, many of whom were clapping, waving and dancing as we chanted. The kirtan gained greater momentum as we saw Maharaja’s graceful and effulgent arrival. After lovingly acknowledging everyone with heartening smiles or in some cases warm loving embraces, Maharaja sat on the airport bench and address us all.

Maharaja giving class

He began by acknowledging the magnificent change in the airport’s renovations by saying that the materialists have done their bit and now we as Srila Prabhupada’s followers need to do our part. He boldly conveyed defeat to the impersonal theory that everything comes from a big bang by alluding to the fact that the airport with all of it’s intelligent design could not have originated from a big bang. He further substantiated this point by saying the flowers on the garland that he was wearing was not created by a big bang either.

Surendra Krishna Prabhu then drove Maharaja to Harinamananda Prabhu and Mother Bhagavati’s house. (Due to accommodation limitations at the temple all sannyasis and visiting preachers are housed at nearby devotee houses.) Despite the exhaustion of the flight Maharaja still spoke to the devotees that followed him to his accommodation and then took very late rest around midnight.

A picnic was scheduled for the next day, New Years day, with all of the devotees. This was meant to take place at the Zoo Lake. However due to the heavy  rainstorm the previous night it was decided that the gathering would take place at the Sri Sri Nitai Gaura-Hari Mandir in Lenasia. Maharaja arrived at the temple at around 11am and led a very ecstatic kirtan. He spontaneously took the kirtan out to the neighbourhood. (Pictures of which will be sent in a separate mail.) Upon returning to the temple with the harinam party Maharaja delivered a lecture to a crowd of about 230 people based on a conversation Srila Prabhupada had with him regarding the 50% of the work he had not completed. (We shall try to upload the lecture and also make a transcript of it available soon for the pleasure of the devotees.)

During the lecture a child was making some noises and when the mother was leaving Maharaja compassionately asked her to remain. This exchange reminded me of Srila Prabhupada’s advice, “Do it enthusiastically with the courage of an Englishman and the heart of a Bengali mother.” (SP Room Conversation –August 10, 1977, Vrndavana)

Maharaja then led more kirtan, spoke to the devotees who approached him individually and did a grain giving ceremony for little Tulsi das, son of Gurudas Prabhu and Mother Rucira. The baby had many spoons of maha sweet rice that Maharaja lovingly fed him. Maharaja mentioned to the Mother that up until the age of 8 this child should be mainly under the mother’s care, then from 8 to 14 he should get mainly sheltered by the father and thereafter they can give him to Maharaja for training. Maharaja left the temple at about 3pm.

Maharaja returned to Harinamananda Prabhu’s house, took lunch that Mother Bhagavati and Mother Jahnavi and team lovingly prepared. Later he had a group darshan with a few devotees.

Below are some photos:

More ecstatic kirtan

As we welcome in 2009, ISKCON News Weekly takes a look back at ten stories that helped to shape the last twelve months. It was hard to narrow the list down to just ten, and we wanted to make sure that we tried to capture the diversity of people, places, and things that made headlines in 2008. From the inspiring to the informative, the tragic to the heart-warming – these are ten stories that changed ISKCON, and us, forever.

Last September saw the first ever US Brahmacari Conference held at San Diego’s ISKCON temple. In the Gaudiya vaishnava culture followed by ISKCON devotees, four stages of life are central to a regulated devotional life: Brahmacarya, wherein the celibate student is trained in discipline and respect; Grihasta, wherein the householder raises a Krishna conscious family; Vanaprastha, wherein the older married couple focus more on spiritual life and prepare themselves for renunciation; and Sannyasa, or complete renunciation.

As Barack Obama begins his first term this January, the world is hoping for change. But on January 19, the night before the inauguration, a group of kirtan singers will bless the event with what they believe is the real solution to all problems, political and otherwise – the holy names of Krishna.

In Krishna consciousness, life is a preparation for one moment -- the moment of death. Devotees of Lord Krishna believe that whatever a person thinks about at that crucial moment determines the next destination of the soul. Therefore, they hope to think about Lord Krishna at the moment of death and thereby return to His home in the spiritual world.

Devotees in Punjab, India kicked off the New Year in true spiritual style with the celebration of “Hare Krishna Nite” at the ISKCON temple in Ludhiana. Devotees from ISKCON Delhi joined the celebration, which ran from 9pm until midnight. Throughout the night, the festivities built to a crescendo with the enthusiastic chanting of God’s names.

This King Prithu will be very, very kind to all citizens. Even though a poor person may trample over the King's head by violating the rules and regulations, the King, out of his causeless mercy, will be forgetful and forgiving. As a protector of the world, he will be as tolerant as the earth itself.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 4 Chapter 16 Verse 7

Having a beginning (adi) and end (anta) qualifies all pleasures in the material world. For that reason, one who is actually wise (budha) seeks no enjoyment from them. It is a fact that in this temporal world we hold not title to, we have no actual possession of, anything we enjoy. Our lease here on happiness is fragile and fleeting.

During the 1970s, I would get culture shock whenever I went to India. The crowded cities, the heat, the food, the occasional sickness, and the austerities of local travel would painfully remind me that I was a stranger in a foreign land. But as the years passed, my visits became more frequent and I began to feel at home there, especially in places like Vrindavan and Mayapur, where the Lord once performed His transcendental pastimes.

Makes 24 cutlets.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

Parikrama

TIRUPATI: When money talks, `bhakti' takes a backseat. In what could be seen as posing threat to the very existence of a 17th century temple, unauthorised quarrying works in about 50 acres of the land surrounding the temple are going on at a frenetic pace. The resultant business worth is: a cool Rs 2 crore every year.

In June, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life published a controversial survey in which 70 percent of Americans said that they believed religions other than theirs could lead to eternal life. This threw evangelicals into a tizzy. After all, the Bible makes it clear that heaven is a velvet-roped V.I.P. area reserved for Christians.

New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS) Hemant, a part-time hawker, lives behind a roadside temple off Janpath in the heart of the capital. The 18-year-old has a new love - the Aap ki Rasoi (your kitchen) van that makes a stop at India Gate lawns every noon and gives him his one hot meal of the day.”I am alive today only because of this food,” Hemant, a migrant from Chhattisgarh, told IANS.

No matter how we look at it this material world is a losing proposition unless we utilize it as a launching pad to the spiritual sky. If we take it in this way, it becomes the most auspicious situation. All we have to do is fully situate ourselves on the rocket of the Lord's unlimitedly sweet holy names and go for the ultimate ride back to the transcendental...

Not long ago, 19-year-old Sreeja Konidela returned home to Hyderabad from Delhi to attend a family funeral—but didn't get the welcome she expected. Konidela, whose father, Chiranjeevi, is a megastar in the Telugu-language film industry, had been disowned for eloping with Shirish Bharadwaj, 23, who was from a different caste. The two had married on live television last October in a bid to keep Sreeja's father from interfering—they were afraid he'd accuse Bharadwaj of kidnapping her, a common tactic in such cases.

Environmentalists chasing a Japanese whaling fleet off Antarctica have thrown "stink" bombs at one of the vessels. The US-based environmental group Sea Shepherd said the Japanese ship, the Kaiko Maru, was spotted by its vessel the Steve Irwin north of Mawson Peninsula.

A brand new year often beckons us to both start things off with a fresh outlook and approach things with a clean slate. It is no surprise that the annual Srila Prabhupada Festival, held every New Years Day at Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple, draws such a large crowd. While festivals at ISKCON Toronto almost always result in an absolutely packed temple, our festival on January 1st seems to bring out a few more non-regulars as people look to start their year with a spiritual flavour.

During the weeks leading up to second annual Bhajan & Prasadam Festival, regular announcements were made at the weekly Sunday Feasts that the Hare Krishna Temple would be the place to be when it comes to ending off the year on the right note. True to form, on December 31st, Toronto's Hare Krishna temple reverberated with the blissful sounds of kirtan and the smells of tantalizing prasadam filled the air.

It all started early in the morning as a small group of devotees gathered to begin the kirtan. It turns out, CBC Television decided to drop by to take some footage for a news piece that they were working on about how different spiritual groups were planning on celebrating the new year.
As the day continued the crowd grew and the kirtan also picked up. During the break periods, devotees were greeted with delicious prasadam. The kirtan reached a feverish pace by the end of the night and all the assembled devotees then headed out for the annual maha-harinama at City Hall. The next day, the kirtan continued as preparations began for the annual Prabhupada Festival.

A lot of hard work was exerted to make the second annual Bhajan & Prasadam Festival a success and a hearty thanks goes out to all the devotees who helped to make it happen. We look forward to seeing everyone at next years festival.

Tonite the family and I went bowling.

The last time I went bowling was a few years back. It was for a child's birthday party in New Jersey and I wore a sari and sindhur. My how the times sure do change. Neither my husband nor myself ever fancied ourselves bowlers, but when we got the invitation to get out and bowl we were into it just for the opportunity of leaving the house and seeing other people on a social level.

How do I have time for all this bloggy stuff anyway? That is what people often ask me. I have time for it because I am basically always home. I go bhoga shopping some, to the temple some and the occasional jaunt to Ross Dress For Less, but other than that I am mostly home...a self imposed shut in. So anyone who may read one of my blogs and think I am having oh so much fun in Alachua--well, think again. It must just be the trick of some kind of literary device.

But tonite we actually had fun. Kind of unexpectedly. The bowling alley itself was a bit freaky. Not the kind of place we usually take our kids to (or ourselves for that matter), but it seemed to work out fine. They really enjoyed the nite out way past their bedtime and I think Venumadhava remembered bowling from Madhavi and Narayan's birthday party a few years back. And me...well I totally get affected by the modes so I tend to have a good time when the lights are dim and the musics loud and the beer is flowing. It wasn't flowing at our lane, but you get the gist of the environment. High class.

Bowling shoes were a big issue for me and Salagram. Most everyone else didn't have a problem with them. But hey...that's so gross--materially and spiritually. So we bowled without the bowling-alley issued footwear and ran into no problems whatsoever.

Krpamoya Prabhu and family were visiting from New V and he and my husband had a pretty spiritual conversation about the game. Prabhu decided that the pins represent the 10 offenses to be avoided when chanting the holy name. My husband came up with the idea that the ball represents guru's mercy. These guys were so on it. Watch out, Bagger Vance!

And yes, I have turned into that totally annoying person with the video camera. But at this point, people still find me slightly amusing if not a teeny bit cute. I promise I will cut back. Really I do.

But in the meantime, I have these videos. And admittedly, they are rather weak. But whatever, my mom will like them.

Bowl Not Bol
I Bowl Without the Shoes

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.9 - Pastimes of Indradyumna Maharaja & glories of Ratha Yatra.

In these tough economic times what better place to start cutting back than on buying store bought yogurt over and over and over again when you could just make a whole mess of it yourself at home! In the latest YouTube video from Sabjimata (who is kinda sorta me) you can see just how absolutely simple the process is. No special equipment required, just a few kitchen basics which you surely have on hand and you too can be yogurt making.

How to Make Yogurt with Sabjimata (Part 1)
How to Make Yogurt with Sabjimata (Part 2)

And while these videos may not appear so authoritative or informational, that is just testimony to the simplicity and easiness of the whole process. Just trust me on this.

It was Bhakta Yeung's first meeting with you [Srila Prabhupada], and his first question: "How could one with a cultural background centered around the family take to Krsna consciousness?" he asked during a lecture.

"He is diseased!" you answered in an angry, chastising voice.

"Yes I am," Bhakta Yeung admitted.

In an instant your sword-like words had cut away lifetimes of attachment from Bhakta Yeung's heart. Your mercy enabled him to surrender to the lotus feet of Your Divine Grace and Krsna. Bhakta Yeung later became your only Chinese disciple, Yasomatisuta dasa.

>From a VP offering in 1994 by Giridhari Swami

Subhadra Kumari from Delhi wrote:

"I want to ask you one question: how we can keep lemon juice for long time to use, as now it's the season of lemons and we can get lemons in good cheap price. We want to store lemon juice for a long time so we can use later on. So is there any specific mathod or preservative? Whenever I tried to keep it stored at home it always spoiled after 10-15 days. What to do?"

Kurma replied:

"There are only two practical ways I know of keeping freshly squeezed lemon juice without using nasty chemicals.

1. Squeeze the juice and freeze it. I do it myself. Firstly collect the juice, strain it, then pour it carefully into freezer ice-cube moulds. You may wish to purchase a few extra. When the lemon juice cubes are frozen, pop them out and store in tighly sealed plastic zip-lock bags or plastic containers with lids in the freezer. Each cube can then be accessed and put into dishes at your convenience. You may wish to note how much juice fitted into each section of the freezer mould, (for example, 1/2 lemon, or measure it in millilitres, fluid ounces or tablespoons) so you can accurately use the cubes in recipes later.

2. Add sugar to the lemon juice (say one part lemon juice and one part sugar) and boil to make a lemonade syrup. You may wish to thinly peel some skin from the lemons and add this to the syrup to make a very flavoursome concentrate. The syrup can then be bottled, sealed and sterilized and put in the pantry, or simply refrigerated and used for homemade lemonade whenever it is required. Just add water and ice!"

Any more ideas, exalted readers?

The first annual New Year's Day Japathon was an opportunity for the devotees to get together as a community and perform in togetherness the most essential practice of our spiritual lives. It was also a great chance to introduce all guests and visitors to that essential practice. Everybody who dropped by the temple was willing to help us reach the goal of 289 rounds (one name of God, Krishna or Rama, for each of the 250,000 residents of Utah Valley) by chanting at least one round.

"Krishna is offering, by His descent, that; 'If you want to enjoy like this in the society of beautiful young boys and girls, come to Me.' Here it is, reality."

-Srila Prabhupada at Los Angeles, January 2, 1974

The last day of my World Tour, I hosted a going-away party at Chowpatty Govinda's - a good excuse to amass cool people in one place. A quite eclectic group, I must say: an African gurukuli, Mumbai natives, first-time-in-India American college students, seasoned bhaktas, European adventurers, and other odd specimens (such as myself, a bald American gurukuli). We kind of took over the restaurant.

At the party, I handed out a questionairre entitled "An Ode to India". So I present to you, my dear readers, a collection of responses from all those cool people (with their permission, of course!). 

My gratitude goes out to them for their sincerity and enthusiasm to share their experience of India with me... and thus all of you. 

 "An Ode to India" Questionairre

1. What is your favorite place within India? Why? 

* Radha Gopinath Temple, especially Vrindavan Forest. It is Vrindavan inside of Mumbai.

* Mayapur, especially the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

* Varsana – I feel the sweetness of Radharani there. It’s beautiful, gentle. The natives there show me what Krishna Consciousness is about: sincerity and depth.

* Vrindavan – I love how it seems as though Sri Radhe is written everywhere.

* Banks of the Ganges.

* The gurukula [school] in Mayapur – the Maharaj there is helping to save the world. It’s a window to another, more Vedic, planet.

* Vrindavan – I feel Krishna there everywhere.

* The foothills of the Himalayas – I actually wept at the sight of the sunrise.

 

What annoys you the most about India?


2. * Pollution

   * THE BATHROOMS. OR LACK THEREOF.

   * Blaring horns as they speed past you.

   * Haggling.

   * Lack of personal space and respect for privacy.

   * Trying to wait patiently in line is impossible! If you don’t push your way onto the bus or train, it will leave without you – if you don’t push your way through the line, you will never make it to the front.

   * The monkeys. I was trying to chant in Vrindavan and one monkey stole my juice.

   * I love everything about India, otherwise it wouldn’t be India.

   

   
   
   
   

    What do you love the most about India?

* I love that people sit on the ground, eat with their hands, walk in bare feet… There is something very free about it (at least from my Western perspective, where I see people very attached to their shoes, utensils, etc.)

* Everything in India flows so well, it just works. The best example is the street traffic - it’s so crazy and there seems to be no order, but people work with each other. It’s beautiful.

* You can buy dhotis in any store.

* Temples and sadhus [saintly people].

* I love that I can meet so many people who are devoted in their spiritual practice.

* The culture of service.

* How everyone knows who Krishna is.

3. Convince someone to come (or return!) to India in one sentence.
   

* Be open and your heart will change.

* If you want to fall deeply in love with Krishna – forever – come to India.

* If you want to step out of your comfort zone and expand your realizations about this world we live in, come to India. You will be surprised at how much you are able to let go and live!

* Lots of association with Radhanath Swami.

* Himalayan sunset.

* Relationships, culture, love.

    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 hotel attacks) 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