Sukumar das singing the bhajan "Hey Govinda Hey Gopal".

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 07 - 12 hr Bhajans - Sukumar das - Hey Govinda Hey Gopal.mp3

By Indradyumna Swami

Our festival programs continued in the Sydney area with great success. I had come with twenty-eight devotees from various countries, and many of them were staying in rooms at the Sydney temple. Devotees from other parts of Australia were also staying there for the Christmas Marathon.

Spend this Gaura Purnima absorbed in the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!

Sacred Journeys
Seminars by HH Indradyumna Swami and HH Varsana Swami
March 6-8, 2009

Visiting holy places is a cherished principle on the path of devotion. Devotees of the Lord regularly visit such auspicious locations as Vrindavan, Mayapur, and Jagannath Puri, where the Lord and His associates have appeared.

Discourses describing the significance and pastimes of the holy sites, visiting ancient temples, worshiping the Deities of the Lord, and congregational chanting are the heart and soul of their sacred journeys.

Join His Holiness Indradyumna Swami, His Holiness Varsana Swami and hundreds of sincere devotees as they take you on a narrative journey to the great spiritual regions of India to search out the most rare and valuable treasure: Pure love of God.

Seminars and Prasadam
$108 by March 1st
$151 after March 1st
Proceeds Benefit Viva Kultura Foundation

Lodging Special Price
Full Weekend Adult - $25
Kids under 12 - $10
Under 5 - Free

Must Reserve by March 1st

For registration, lodging or volunteering
Contact: sacredjourney108@gmail.com
www.newvrindaban.com

Krishna and the soul are 'invisible' to our materialistic eyes. Srila Prabhupada has called the soul and God (jiva and iswavar)
"correlative" terms. In London on 29August 1975 he said, "Atheist means
one who does not believe in the soul and God. These are correlative
terms. If you understand what is soul, then you can understand what is
God."

For the KuliMela in Radhadesh, I hosted a Japa Workshop. I received amazing feedback, and I felt inspired to hear this all from gurukulis, who have a hard time especially with japa. My good friend Kapila, though, e-mailed me the following letter some time later, and I found it beautiful... and essential to understanding that japa is, well, the holy name, and the holy name is pure.

Saturday we went to Kanapaha Botanical Gardens in Gainesville with the kids and some friends. My husband had been before but it was my first time there. Admittedly, the coldest week of the year is not the optimal time to visit a garden.  But we made it work.

The danger of scientific modeling is the theory of generalization. Through inductive reasoning, we induce a theory based on sample data hoping the sample represents the entire population. That’s right hope - there is no accurate fool proof way to measure the representative-ness of a sample to the whole population. I am of the opinion that no two people are alike…having said that how can a representative sample actually represent a true population. This major assumption in science today limits science. Still, however, scientists make grave generalities attempting to solve population wide issues.

By Mayapur Sasi dasa

For the pleasure of Srila Prabhupada this file contains the following North American results for the month of December: North American Totals, Monthly Temples, Monthly Weekend Warriors etc., Monthly Top 100 Individuals, Monthly Top 5, Cumulative Countries, Cumulative Temples, Cumulative Top 100 Individuals, Cumulative Top 5

Over the past few weeks my car has been undergoing some repairs following a small crash during this time the insurance company gave me a hire car, a like for like equivalent so they said so I was somewhat amused and perplexed when a Ford focus turned up (I can not see how this is [...]

A halál biztos?

Many people have children to carry on their legacy. I just wanted someone cute to kiss and cuddle. But lucky, lucky me--I get the best of both worlds.

================================================================== Thought for they Day--Monday 19 January 2009 ================================================================== Dedicated with love to you, our treasured readers, and to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Our purpose is to help everyone awaken...

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

On Dec. 26 I met a nice Indian gentleman at our San Fransosco Harinama. He said that he was a devotee of Krishna his whole life and now he was facing some hard times. He had lost his job and had no where to sleep. He said that he was losing his faith.

We were standing at the book table when he asked, "What can you tell me? I don't know what to do." He asked if he could stay at our Temple, but I explained that it is very small and there may not be any room. I really did not know what to do, but somehow I could not let him leave without some words of encouragement. I gave him 2 small books, an ISO and a Civilization & Transendence, and I told him that if you have Krishna then you have everything. I could tell that he had a renewed sense of hope when he took the books. I gave him my personal phone number and told him that if you get into trouble please call me and I will come and get you and bring you to my apartment. A few days later he called and said he was staying at a friends house for a few days. He told me that he had graduated with a Hotel and Restaurant Managament degree from India and was desperate to send money back to his family.

I sent an email to my friend Michelle who is the owner of an award winning restaurant here in the city. Now he has a job interview on Monday. I could tell by the tone of his voice that his faith in God is renewed by his experience with the devotees. We really made a difference in his life. He was so happy to see the devotees on Harinama.

Every time we go on book distribution, we eradicate ignorance and bring auspiciousness to everyone we connect with.

My whole life all i wanted to do is help people. This Sankirtan movement is the best way to really help....in fact it is the only way to help people. As Vaisesika Prabhu has said," Let's leave everyone with a good impression. Everyone we meet should feel that they have met a spiritual person." Let us not be afraid to go the extra distance to make our preaching more personal. Sometimes just giving someone your phone number can really encourage them to get reconnected to Krsna Consciousness. We should approach everyone with an open heart, ready to do what is necessary to help. Those who are receptive will appreciate your effort.

Everyone is looking for Krishna everywhere.

All Glories to the Sankirtan Devotees!!! Your servant, Bhakta Jorge (Text PAMHO:16744223) --------------------------------------

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

Dear Devotees,

Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

On Dec. 26 I met a nice Indian gentleman at our San Fransosco Harinama. He said that he was a devotee of Krishna his whole life and now he was facing some hard times. He had lost his job and had no where to sleep. He said that he was losing his faith.

We were standing at the book table when he asked, "What can you tell me? I don't know what to do." He asked if he could stay at our Temple, but I explained that it is very small and there may not be any room. I really did not know what to do, but somehow I could not let him leave without some words of encouragement. I gave him 2 small books, an ISO and a Civilization & Transendence, and I told him that if you have Krishna then you have everything. I could tell that he had a renewed sense of hope when he took the books. I gave him my personal phone number and told him that if you get into trouble please call me and I will come and get you and bring you to my apartment. A few days later he called and said he was staying at a friends house for a few days. He told me that he had graduated with a Hotel and Restaurant Managament degree from India and was desperate to send money back to his family.

I sent an email to my friend Michelle who is the owner of an award winning restaurant here in the city. Now he has a job interview on Monday. I could tell by the tone of his voice that his faith in God is renewed by his experience with the devotees. We really made a difference in his life. He was so happy to see the devotees on Harinama.

Every time we go on book distribution, we eradicate ignorance and bring auspiciousness to everyone we connect with.

My whole life all i wanted to do is help people. This Sankirtan movement is the best way to really help....in fact it is the only way to help people. As Vaisesika Prabhu has said," Let's leave everyone with a good impression. Everyone we meet should feel that they have met a spiritual person." Let us not be afraid to go the extra distance to make our preaching more personal. Sometimes just giving someone your phone number can really encourage them to get reconnected to Krsna Consciousness. We should approach everyone with an open heart, ready to do what is necessary to help. Those who are receptive will appreciate your effort.

Everyone is looking for Krishna everywhere.

All Glories to the Sankirtan Devotees!!! Your servant, Bhakta Jorge (Text PAMHO:16744223) --------------------------------------

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

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.27 - Unique features that make meditation on Krsna easier.

Many devotees, having despaired of getting fair, generous, and consistent treatment in ISKCON, and of its affairs being conducted in an intelligent manner corresponding to the society's stated goals, have turned their backs on it. I am not one of them. Although I do not foresee a paradigm shift soon, I maintain the faith that ISKCON is overseen by higher powers and that it is the duty of its members, especially its leaders, to continue existing and serving as best we can within the society and to pray for the change of outlook that must take place if again ISKCON is to get on track and be intensely focused on fulfilling Srila Prabhupada's desires. Also, despite ISKCON's warts, I do not see that there is a better alternative.

My oven door makes me sad. Repeatedly milk has boiled over from my stove top and made its way down into the oven door vents, streaking the inside of the oven door glass panels in a very unsightly way. I couldn't figure out a way to get in there and clean up the mess without spending money on a service call.


Inspired by his dutiful kitchen service, I wanted to reciprocate with a very dairy lunch. Not for the vegan hearted.

Srila Prabhupada is reputed to have said "Work now, samadhi later."
Although this phrase is not to be found within the Bhaktivedanta
Database, the idea is that devotional service is to be part of our
lives and that we are to be ghostianandies, not bhajananandies.
Some may argue that Rupa and Sanatana Goswami were bhajananandies,
living in caves, beneath sacred trees, near holy lakes and rivers, at
hallowed shrines, aloof from the general public. But what was their
purpose? "Lokanam hita-karinau tri-bhuvane," It was to

read more

Each week I select a verse from the Bhagavad-gita and compare/contrast four different translations. These translators all subscribe to the Gaudia-Vaisnava philosophy. This examination isn’t to prove one more superior to another, but to highlight the similarities and learn from the differences in ideologies.

The four Gitas are:
-Bhagavad-gita: As It Is by Srila Prabhupada (1972 edition)
-Bhagavad-gita: It’s Feeling and Philosophy by Tripurari Swami
-Srimad Bhagavad-gita by Narayana Maharaja
-Bhagavad-gita: The Beloved Lord’s Secret Love Song by Garuda dasa (Graham Schweig)

Though I’m hardly qualified to do so, I dissect each translation, sometimes interjecting my own unsolicited commentary. More on this can be found here.

This week’s verse comes from Chapter 9: Raja-Guhya-yoga, also called The Yoga of Hidden Treasure and the King of Secrets. This chapter deals with the most important knowledge.

The Bhagavad-gita is a conversation between Krishna (God) and Arjuna (His devotee). Arjuna is asking questions and Krishna in answering them. Arjuna’s last question was at the beginning of Chapter 8. Since then, Krishna has covered a lot of topics, from the importance of our last thought to explaining the entire material existence. He’s on a roll.

He just finished up teaching Arjuna the proper ways to worship Him. After He speaks this verse, He continues explaining worship and its rewards. This verse gives a small glimpse into God’s nature and position.

samo’ham sarva-bhutesu
na me dvesyo’sti na priyah
ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya
mayi te tesu capy aham

I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.
-Srila Prabhupada

I am impartial to all beings. I hate no one and I favor no one. However, those who worship me with devotion are in me, and I am also in them.
-Tripurari Swami

I am equal to all living beings and am neither inimical nor partial to anyone. But as those who serve Me with bhakti are attached to Me, so too am I bound by affection for them.
-Narayana Maharaja

I am the same
    towards all beings;
    no one is either hated
    or dearly loved by me.
Yet those who,
    with an offering of love,
    offer their love to me -
    they are in me
    and I am also in them.
-Garuda dasa (Graham M. Schweig)

Translating from the Sanskrit is no easy task. Each of our esteemed authors must make tough decisions about where to place which phrases. Garuda dasa chooses to follow the Sanskrit poetical flow as closely as possible. Tripurari Swami seems to keep it as simple as he can, adding no extra content to the verses. Srila Prabhupada and Narayana Maharaja both take liberties not only in placement of phrases, but in the addition of ideas to explain the verse.

The first line, samo’ham sarva-bhutesu is similarly translated by all four: “I am equal to all.” Srila Prabhupada choses to translate the second line before the first line, but his verses often have to be taken as a whole.

Tripurari Swami translates samah as “impartial” rather than “equal.” Srila Prabhupada and Narayana Maharaja are, of course, not indicating that Krishna is equal to us, that we are the same, that we are God. The meaning is that Krishna is impartial. Garuda dasa (whose edition provides no word-for-word analysis of the original Sanskrit) seems to have translated it as “the same towards.”

Srila Prabhupada placed the second line before the first. In his edition, Krishna explains that He envies no one and that He is not partial to anyone. He then states that He is equal to all. Prabhupada actually translates samah as “equally disposed” in his word-for-word.

Tripurari Swami translates na me dvesyo ’sti na priyaha, the second line, as “I hate no one and I favor no one.” “Hate” has been translated from dvesyah. Narayana Maharaja also translates it as “hated,” though chooses the word “inimical” in his verse. Garuda dasa also uses “hated.”

While Srila Prabhupada glosses dvesyah as “hateful,” he choses to verse it as “envy.” This is interesting that he is equating envy with hate. We usually think of envy as a strong form of coveting or even obsessive admiration. But true envy cannot exist without hatred (and often that is also hatred of oneself).

Three of our translators chose the word “dear” from priyah. In their verses, they used “partial” or in Tripurari Swami’s case, “favor.” However, Garuda dasa oddly chose “dearly loved.” His exact line is: “no one is either hated or dearly loved by me.” This seems a bit extreme. True, when something is dear to you, it is loved by you. So it’s not that his translation is incorrect. But saying that God does not love anyone seems a bit misleading.

That is, however, the nature of this verse. It is contradictory. In the first two lines, Krishna is telling us that He is impartial, that He favors nobody over another. But that all changes in the second part of the verse.

With the tiny Sanskrit word tu, Krishna throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing. Tu means “but” or “yet.” So even though all of this may be true, that Krishna is impartial and doesn’t favor one person over another… tu. There is an exception. Who is this exception?

Ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya - However, those who worship Me with devotion….

Devotees of God are the exception.

As Narayana Maharaja and Tripurari Swami translate bhajanti as the more traditional “worship,”
Srila Prabhupada translates bhajanti as “render transcendental service.” All Gaudia-Vaisnavas agree that service to God is worship, but Srila Prabhupada often drove this point home. Here is another such example. Instead of simply translating bhajanti as worship, he translates it as “devotional service.”

I usually enjoy Garuda dasa’s translation. Sometimes it may be quite different from (though never at odds with) the other translations. He truly captures the poetry contained in the Bhagavad-gita. Oddly, In this case I guess I just don’t get it. “Yet those who, with an offering of love, offer their love to me…” The purpose in his translation was to follow the Sanskrit as closely as possible. He nearly always takes it line-by-line, and though he may sometimes choose words that seem strange, he rarely, if ever, departs from the flow of the original poetry like he does here.

Maybe it’s a typo. His typical four lines are now an inexplicable five with two of the lines repeating the same idea. “With an offering of love, offer their love to me” just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe he was trying to decide between the two lines and accidentally left them both in. Though sloppy, that would at least explain it. “Yet those who offer their love to me…” makes sense, even if it has no mention of worship or devotional service. I’m honestly baffled by this one.

Moving on, mayi te tesu capy aham is a very sweet line. I find Srila Prabhupada’s to be the sweetest here: “… is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” Narayana Maharaja puts it similarly, “… are attached to Me, so too am I bound by affection for them.” In the original Sanskrit there is no mention of attachment or friendship. It is simply, as Tripuari Swami and Garuda dasa both put it, “… are in me, and I am also in them.”

Though there is no specific mention in the verse of such a reciprocal relationship, a devotee understands that “I am in them and they are in Me” is very reciprocal.

We, as Gaudia-Vaisnavas, believe in a personalist philosophy. God isn’t just all around us or somewhere off in heaven. We believe that He is a person and that we have a relationship with Him (and He with us). This verse confirms that if we love God, He reciprocates. While He is fully impartial to everyone, He favors those that favor Him. Isn’t this natural?

Srila Prabhupada concludes his purport by saying, “Devotional service of the Lord is not an activity of this material world; it is part of the spiritual world where eternity, bliss and knowledge predominate.”

All three of the purports to this verse (Garuda dasa’s translation contains only the verses - without commentary) are very worth reading. Any honest student of the Bhagavad-gita would be greatly benefited by obtaining and studying at least these three books.

Call it what you want – economic crunch, financial meltdown, apocalypse now – the world in general, and the USA in particular, is not exactly rolling in wealth. The recession began, according to the National Bureau of Economic research, in December 2007. By 2008, the prices of commodities such as oil and food had gotten so high that they were causing genuine economic damage – oil prices peaked at $147 a barrel in July, and a gallon of gas cost over $4 across most of the USA.

In remarkable semblance to Jayapataka Swami's recent health crisis, ISKCON guru Radha Govinda Maharaja is currently recovering from a brain hemorrhage in a New Delhi hospital. While traveling by train on January 8 from Vrindavana to Ludhiana, Punjab, where he was scheduled to give a talk, Maharaja stopped off at the town of Jalandhar to visit the local ISKCON temple.

Within the next few months, ISKCON will move to its new temple in Sarcelles, a multi-ethnic and multi-religious suburb on the northern outskirts of Paris and near the famous Charles de Gaulle International airport. For the first time in over twenty years, ISKCON will own temple property in the Paris area. The presiding Deities, Sri Sri Radha Parisishvara, were installed in 1973 by the Founder-Acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Balabhadra Dasa, co-managing director of ISCOWP (International Society for Cow Protection) along with his wife Chayadevi, is currently in a stable condition at home after suffering an unexpected heart-attack.

As they do every year, over eight hundred disciples and congregational devotees celebrated the fifty-second Vyasa-puja, or birthday, of ISKCON guru Bhakti Vikas Swami this January 3rd. But hospitality from a different branch of Vaishnavaism added a twist. This year's event was hosted by the Madhva Sampradaya and held in Udupi, the south Indian town where Madhvacharya "one of the greatest Vaishnava teachers of all time" lived eight hundred years ago.

Mukunda Goswami introduces Padyatra India. This is a video made in the very beginning of the Padayatra festival in 1984. This is when Pradayatra was just in India. It was planned to trace the footsteps of Lord Caitanya who also travelled all over India from village to village by foot. It started in Dwarka down to South India then up to Sridhama Mayapur in 1986 to coincide with the appearance day celebrations of Lord Caityanya Mahaprabhu and the culmination of all the festivities for the celebration of the Srila Prabhuapda Centennial.

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.

By Bhaktin Sue

ISKCON Mayapur is launching its brand new exciting project “Mayapur Worldwide”, a project that at one point none of us could ever have imagined how it was going to emerge or whether it was ever going to happen at all but it has and we hope that you will be as exited by it as we are.

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.

A Christian bus driver has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming "There's probably no God". Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, responded with "shock" and "horror" at the message and walked out of his shift on Saturday in protest.

Michael Newdow, the atheist attorney best known for trying to remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance, announced he is filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to forbid references to God during the presidential inauguration ceremony for Barack Obama, January 20.

Sam Silverman is co-captain of his high school football team — a safety accustomed to bruising collisions. But that's nothing compared with the abuse he gets for being a vegetarian. "I get a lot of flak for it in the locker room," said the 16-year-old junior at Westborough High School in Massachusetts.

KATHMANDU: Hundreds of people cried and sang in jubilation on Thursday as Hindu devotees began a victory march to celebrate the return of Indian priests to Nepal's 17th century Pashupatinath temple and the pledge by the humbled Maoist government not to interfere in its management.

1968 January 18: "We want only one moon at night, and we don't care for millions of stars. Character building is the groundwork for seating Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

Children and young teens should spend no more than two hours playing video games or watching TV a day, according to an Australian study which is sure to strain domestic relations. Dr Louise Hardy, of the University of Sydney, said her study sought to test the two-hour "small-screen time" guideline issued by the American Academy of Paediatrics in 2001.

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1968 January 18: "And because we are a little bit strict, we have not a very large number neither do we want any large number of nonsense followers."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 January 18 : "We are staying at the Magh Mela, at the Prayag pilgrimage. Our pandel is very big. We are having daily artik many times with kirtan, prasadam distribution, Sankirtan, and so many activities."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 January 18 : "We want to present the pure thing as taught by Caitanya Mahaprabhu. That will bring in a real change. If this is successful, the whole world will see the transcendental potency of the pure Sankirtana Movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

================================================================== Thought for the Day--Sunday 18 January 2009 ================================================================== Dedicated with love to you, our treasured readers, and to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Our purpose is to help everyone awaken...

1972 January 18 : "I think you should very quickly join us. I am going to Africa and it is quite likely that I shall not be returning to India for some time. So you can come here to Jaipur and meet me for taking your initiation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 January 18: "Regarding the controversial talks going on, this kind of talk is not befitting my advanced students. This is childish. The pure devotee never minimizes the importance of other devotees."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 18: "Everyone should feel proud of becoming sincere servant of Krishna. One devotee may be proud that his process of service is the best. That is not inglorious. This is called transcendental competition."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 18: "There is no more the question of inferior or superior. Krishna is the enjoyer of varieties of service. It is not stuck up with any particular type of service. Everyone should be very very sincere."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

When we are in line with, or have the same desire that Krsna has for us, then we feel a sense of satisfaction and alignment.

Futility engraves itself in every move
Get hit by a tsunami, become a loner among friends,
diseases knocking on your door,
Sadly nothing makes you realize,
the futility of this endless cycle.

Monday, 29th Dec, 2008. It was 3:30am when Domo’s text woke me up. Show time. Today was the first day of Peat’s Ridge Festival. I had a list of things I had to collect before heading off. I noticed there was someone else in the room. The bhaktas and brahmacaris were jumping on our rooms in the notion that we would all be gone so I had some sneaking suspicions. I was relieved when I heard Gaura’s familiar groan (translating into “I’m so flipping tired?!). He gave me an epic story of how he couldn’t sleep in the van due to the non permanent appearance of winter and summer seasons (ie it was to hot with the window closed and to cold with the window open). I may have scored 3 hours sleep but I trust he only scored around 2. I jumped in the shower. Some little Indian gentleman, although I was to tired to be shocked, popped his head through the curtains. I picked up the brahmacari fanatic’s concept of always being decently dressed so I was not too alarmed standing there in my gamsa (if this is to intimate of a ashram scene I apologise). “Prabhu I need to go to Mongal Arti” the man said. “Prabhu I need to go to Peat’s Ridge” I replied. I laughed at the concept that someone was urging someone, who only just made it into the shower, that he needed to go first to get to mongal arti. I know it is important, and am sorry I miss so many on tour, but it was not enough to kick someone out of the shower so you can beat them to mongal arti. Anyway I had some fun with it for a while but suspected something else from the encounter. My main task was moving the books to the car. This was one of the times on tour and in my Krsna Conscious life where I got to become familiar with the terms: surrender, austerity, penance. The last thing I want to do at 4am in the morning, after minimal sleep and previous physical exhaustion, is cart many boxes of books. I didn’t actually have the physical energy, what to speak of the mental energy, but I some what transcended the modes and plotted along. I cruised through the kitchen to find my little Indian Gentleman in the pujari room. “Oh he needed to DO the Mongal Arti” I thought to myself. The whole awkward situation made sense and my suspicions were revealed. After I had all the essentials I thought it safe to have a snooze in the car. I triple checked my mental check list and then went deep under cover. I was eventually woken by Rajesvari, who was to be my passenger on the trip to Peat’s Ridge. She was standing with Bridge, our newest recruit from South Africa. It was pleasant introductions as I shook off the sleep face and pretended I was totally conscious and alert. Gaura returned, we assembled the troops and we hit the battlefield. We approached the festival. We were lead through all sorts of blockades and formality conditioning. It was all a little silly as the people in charge were all hippies and young teenage volunteers. For once I felt I wasn’t the least responsible person to be sighted. We were supposed to present individual ID, which was a trip for our international crew, but in the end found it was all “no worries mates” and we were just let in anyway. Tribi looked disappointed as he put away his secret agent fashioned ID card. Gaura had been given some incorrect directions and we circumambulator the very much negative holy place that was Peat’s Ridge. The chaos only seemed to intensify as we entered further. We quickly received word the our on site crew had been up all night digging holes. The stage company dropped us off a stage that was too high and took off before they had to do anything about it. It was exhaustion from phase one of the festival and it could only get more taxing. I set up my book table. My main pleasure on tour, when I have the energy to appreciate it, is setting up a good book table. I had the matais help me out and supervised the whole arrangement. Once they left I noticed the table was not totally level and Domo noticed also. I had to secure some wood to fix it up. I dug back stage and found my footings. Once that was done I noticed the table was flimsy. I stepped down to a humble position and started to investigate. So there I was in the dark underneath the table trying to secure little clips and fiddling with the legs. They folded one way or the other and there was not much sense to them. I got some hands on and tried to meal them into a place where I could clip the whole yantra together. Eventually the leg folded itself…only my palm. I pulled out and checked damage control. The contraption had pinched my skin and there was now a fair sized hole in my hand with vision of the inner tissues. This was not at all handy (pun intended). I started to cup the large amount of blood now exiting my palm. I could now safely use the phrase “oh it’s just a flesh wound”. I tipped some excess into the waste dispensary as I looked for some competent assistance. I casually went to the service charges and showed them a handful of blood asking “what should I do with this?” I was shown our very much lacking first aid kit. It didn’t look promising. At this rate I was going to have to pick my coffin. Finally some witch doctor prabhu told me to throw some turmeric on the wound. Like a neophyte and a semi bored casualty patient I blindly agreed. So there I was, at the medical tent of the festival looking for someone to patch me up. There was no one. Some other girls came with a small burn trying to steal some ice. I told them not to take it from the esky as it was for the organs, most likely livers. Eventually an ambulance drove past, blatantly ignoring us and then returning. He was looking for someone who had cut open their foot. They gave me my first ride in an ambulance and dropped me at the security station. The only non hippie people on the festival set up crew were the security and so they had some sense. They patched me up in after a lengthy 15 minute wait and I was back in action. I returned to a totally out of it book table location and a play practice. I was all white with bandage as we casually did a run through of our play. Chandra was not yet at the festival so we had to make some modifications. I had to self arm lock myself for Chandra and throw myself on the ground. We were all laughing at the whole thing and casually threw ourselves through the motions. I sat back in my book tent. I stared out at the beautiful Shyam coloured clouds. Maharaja also came into the tent and relaxed on a chair. Then I thought for a moment “doesn’t Shyam coloured clouds mean monsoon clouds?” Within only a few minutes it was poring down rain by the bucket loads. Maharaja turned to me and inquired “this will clear up soon” as if I was the authority on the weather. I had good luck at not being right about things people expected me to know on tour and I was hoping this was not one of those times. “Yeah it’s probably just passing through” I said in return. I gulped and hoped I was right. I watched as all the alternates and hippies ran for shelter, hoping this might insight them to start wearing what I classed as “clothes”. This whole calamity opened up to some light conversation between me and HH Indradyumna Swami. He began to ask me a few questions about myself so I felt pretty honoured. “So what are you doing after tour?” asked Maharaja. I fumbled a reply about doing some sankirtana in Sydney, Mayapur. “Are you coming to Brazil with us next year?” He asked also. This was ecstatic because that basically meant I was invited. I was still hesitant about the idea and felt completely obliged now that he was asking and I mentioned myself at least coming to Polish tour. “Oh so you are coming on Polish Tour again” Maharaja noted. Maharaja then seemed to enquire in himself and produced one final question in curiosity. “How old are you?” He asked. When I mentioned I was 20 he gave an astonished glance. “You’re just a kid” He said. This was a nice reciprocation. I had been trying to make it obvious from our first trip that I was indeed just a young gurukuli (or granule as my auto spell check insists I call myself). I always suspected Indradyumna Swami of favouring the young bloods so I was glad I was now labelled as a “kid” as I eternally am. I was so happy that my nervous prayers had come true. The clouds moved on and this called for the move on of Indradyumna Swami. I had barely saved the books from being soaked and was glad I still had a functioning book table remaining. Two young ladies came into the tent, asked about the program and some yoga they had heard rumours about. One passed on to the prasad but another, Julie seemed more interested in what was on the table. She asked sweet questions and was genuinely searching. I tried to feed her everything she was after and went through so many strange angles of the philosophy due to her distinct questions. She eventually processed the ideas of each book and picked out the Gita. We exchanged emails and I happily saw her off. I was so happy to find such an intelligent person in this mass of half naked maniacs. Our festival at Peat’s Ridge consisted of our main tent and our tiny book tent to the side. Our main tent had a stage on one side and a catering buffet at the other side. They were separated by chairs and matts for viewing and feasting. The catering featured the basic prasad and a refreshing lemonade, which I binged through the whole festival. We named our cups to save dosh. Day 1’s cup was entitled “The Mind”, Day 2 “The Mind Episode 2” and Day 3 “The Mind, Siva, Brahma, Police Man.” We decided prior to the thunder storm to start our program earlier. This took effect as of the clearing of the sky. We started with kirtana. I quickly got someone to mind the table as I visited the medical tent, now staffed. I was awarded a nice skin colour bandage and a white “sympathy” wrap. This was great because I could use the skin colour for dramas and use the bandage wrap to beg help for my book table. At least half of this plan worked. The drama went down a treat. After Le Carnaval Spirituel hit the stage a lady came to the book table asking if she could speak to “the Yogi”, indicating HH Indradyumna Swami (and not Braja Sakha or Lal Krsna). Gaura escorted her to the Holy Yogi for a mysterious discourse (ie I have no idea what went down). Eventually Domo insisted I move the book table into a more flow zone. I tried to gesture Sri P and Gaura to help us out, being some of the more responsible guys on tour. It was all a big mix up and the table was proving to be nothing but a mix up through the whole day. We some how got it there as the light went dim. I looked back at my little book tent with it’s pre fixed light fitting and internally cried as my book table became a mysterious darkness. Rupa Ragunatha Prabhu set up a paraphernalia table in profit of the tour. I was happy but I suspected he would sell nothing. He pained at writing out a price list so that I could use the table for the other 2 days of the festival and I was pained even more knowing it would be unpractical seeing as I was failing to maintain a simple book table by my self. I was a little saddened on this day that not so many people wanted to get involved in Prabhupada’s favoured books but I suspected that they may have seen it more as a sitting and waiting game which not to many people are into. Near the end of the night a girl eagerly breezed through the cook books insisting she would come back and I received a hand shake from a Justin who also said I would see more of the likes of him. Over all the book table was a big flop on the Charity Gig of Charity Gigs that was Peat’s Ridge but I felt it was all worth the turmoil for that gem like reciprocation I received on day one. Eventually the night grew late and Village of Peace hit the stage. Talking with people at the table was now a thing of the past. I chilled back, sung along and laughed at Sri P forgetting some of his lyrics. I realised how much I listened to my VOP CD as I was singing on. After this it was all over. I had to franticly hide books and take what I could to save them from the moisture. Julie, who had bought a book earlier, almost changed her mind as she had found all the Gita’s had lost shape due to the humidity and I didn’t want to waste a few hundred dollars of Srila Prabhupada’s nectarine books on weather damage. I was too young to let such a thing become part of my life experience. By this time I had totally lost the plot. I carted 8 boxes of books, single handily (quite literally as one of my hands was bandaged). I was carrying 2 boxes at a time half way across the festival site to my car. I was almost hyperventilating and was physically used up to begin with. The lack of sleep, blood loss, humidity and hippies had all got to me. I snapped out at anyone who protested or possibly even offered assistance and basically busted out some genuine vaisnava aparadha. I was questioning if I was going to be able to make the drive home after this crazed ordeal. We summoned the troop, almost loosing Raja, much to her traumatizment (I say that’s a word!), and hit the windy road around Peat’s Ridge. By the end of the circle I had regained sanity and we exchanged some nice sat sanga on the way home. Everyone was attentively talkative as they suspected me of falling asleep at the wheel. There was no chance though. Miraculously I was fully energized. There is one thing that isn’t in the Bhakta Manual and that is that it’s very hard to sleep when you surcharge your body full of adrenalin after hauling 8 boxes of books yourself across a hippie rave festival. When me and Gaura entered our room we found it filled with two bhaktas, eager to seize the real estate while they suspected we were gone. I turned the light on, as if I was coming home to my empty room, wished them a haribol, hesitated to see if they would properly vacate and then turned it back off when I realised they didn’t care or were to tired. Gaura retreated to the van and I picked out an empty slot and vibed them out from my deep sleep. If anyone tried to wake me up for mongal arti I was sure to reveal my Ugra Maddy form. I was over all happy with my day. I got to show a really cool person a Gita, which is a life changing experience for anyone who takes advantage of it and I got to physically sacrifice myself to the efforts of book hauling, the unmentioned sport of the Vaisnavas.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.24-26 - Spiritual awakening will naturally occur if given the opportunity..

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura says that a devotee does not care about his own happiness and distress; he is simply interested in seeing that Krsna is happy, and for that purpose he engages in various activities.

A pure devotee has no way of sensing happiness except by seeing that Krsna is happy in every respect.

If Krsna becomes happy by giving him distress, such a devotee accepts that unhappiness as the greatest of all happiness.

Those who are materialistic, however, who are very proud of material wealth and have no spiritual knowledge, like the prakrta-sahajiyas, regard their own happiness as the aim of life.

Some of them aspire to enjoy themselves by sharing the happiness of Krsna.

This is the mentality of fruitive workers who want to enjoy sense gratification by making a show of service to Krsna.

- Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Antya 20.52 Purport

I am very glad to learn that you are all working peacefully together. This is the most favorable atmosphere for cultivating our Krishna consciousness. And if people see us working together nicely, they cannot criticize anything against our Krishna consciousness movement.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Prabhavisnu: -- Bombay 3 December, 1974

You may have heard of 'Pascals wager'. The French philosophers stance doesn't necessarily prove anything, but is definitely food for thought. Basically summarised, his argument is as follows:

1) One does not know whether God exists.
2) Not believing in God is bad for one's eternal soul if God does exist.
3) Believing in God is of no consequence if God does not exist.
4) Therefore it is in one's interest to believe in God.

If the followers of God continue living a moral, dutiful life in this world, then even if it turns out that God never existed they are not losers. If the purpose of life was simply to 'have a good time', then if they managed to do that through their faith then great. However, if God did turn out to be a reality then they did really well!

On the other hand, the nonbeliever, according to Pascal, is in a slightly more precarious position. If life was simply a one time show, then the nonbeliever has not lost anything, much like the person of faith. However, if God was a reality then his existence would surely take a turn for the worse.

Pascal posits that a person should "wager" as though God exists, because so living has everything to gain, and nothing to lose. Not everyone will agree, but it is an interesting position...

The Client emailed me around Monday, letting me know that he would be by to pick up his stuff sometime later in the week. My entire upstairs kitchen was devoted to cooking for him and although intellectually I know it will be good for me to clear out his stuff and take back the space, I can't help but think how empty the place will look once his stuff is finally out of there.

By Deena Bandhu dasa

We would like to invite everyone to come and join the 6th Annual Festival of the opening of Vrinda Devi's new Temple from Feb. 9th to 22nd. This is the best time of year, the weather is perfect.

Hare Krsna everyone. I hope your week has been full of meditation on the lotus feet of Lord Gauranga and Sri Radha Krsna. Today I acknowledged the importance of cleaning our inner space so we can chant more effectively. This is something we should meditate on before our chanting. We all have this problem of the wandering mind, thinking of many things while chanting and so on, but if we try to clean our minds just by meditating on our constitutional position, then it will help to have our internal space prepared before japa.
We have every day 33 thousand different thoughts which form our mental climate...our mood. By thinking on so many things and sometimes, if we are visual intelligent, we may picture some of our thoughts and this will be much harder to forget. It's just like a room full of furniture, food, toys, etc, that you can't even enter and do something.

So here, the basic point Lord Krishna is making to Arjuna, is that we should not rush people, to try to push them too quickly to a level which is higher than what they are capable of maintaining.  The devotee, understanding the futility of material existence may feel so enthusiastic to help the conditioned soul to achieve the transcendental platform, that he may push them too hard.  But first of all a person…well, a child… before the child can run, the child has to learn to walk. Before the child can learn how to walk, the child has to learn to crawl.  And if a runner, someone who can run very quickly, and who knows the benefit of doing that, tells the child, “Come on, just run.”… But if the child is not even able to walk, and if you let the child stand up, and then let go and say “run!”, the child will immediately fall flat on the face!  So it is a nice sentiment, we would like everybody to get the maximum out of Krsna consciousness as quickly as possible, but we have to understand what levels people are on, and then try to help them in ways, which are relevant to them as individuals, in terms of their particular position.

I remember many years ago in England, in 1973, George Harrison had just bought one big building for our movement, and he was very enthusiastic about Krsna consciousness.  He came to see Srila Prabhupada in that new building and he said, “Prabhupada, I would like to shave my head.  I would like to move into the temple.  I would like to become a celibate monk.  And help your movement in that way.”  So it is a very nice sentiment.  And Prabhupada expressed some appreciation for that.  But he told George, “Actually you know, you should just carry on the way you are, and sing about Krishna, and present Krsna consciousness to the young people through your musical medium.  So, George Harrison did that.  As a result, he was able to influence millions of people.  If he had done what he had suggested he might do…stop his music, and perhaps…I don’t know…go out on the Harinam party, that would have been nice, but it would not have had the impact of continuing in the way that he actually did.

So Krsna consciousness… it is a very personal process.  When we say “process”, immediately of course, that term indicates that there is a “system”, there’s a type of mechanics which have to be applied.  And in certain respects, that is true.  Everybody, whoever they are, they should all chant Hare Krsna.  Everybody, whoever they are, they should read Bhagavad Gita.  Everybody should associate with devotees, and take part in Krsna conscious programmes.  So of course this is in the broad sense.  But at the same time we have to understand everyone is an individual.  There is a saying in English…it goes…”one man’s meat….”, well, we will say, “one man’s food is another man’s poison.”  So every individual is in a certain position in terms of their development of their material consciousness.  Some are attached to some things…

Actually, I remember also, in 1973, Srila Prabhupada in Bhaktivedanta Manor, in London…different people, famous people, came to visit him.  And some, from the point of view of spiritual life, some quite unusual people came.  I don’t know if you have ever heard of Graeme Hill.  He was the Grand Prix racing champion of the world…motorcar racing.  So you know, it may be a little hard to imagine driving these fast fast cars, like madness screaming around the racetrack, and spiritual life.  But anyway, somehow, this man came to meet Srila Prabhupada.  Well, he obviously didn’t know what to expect, Mr Hill.  He sat down with Srila Prabhupada.  Srila Prabhupada started talking to him about motorcars.  Then gradually he took the discussion in the direction of spiritual topics.  So like this, we have to be… Krishna is saying here…  We have to be very sensitive to people and the situations…the conditions they are in.

Another person who came to see Srila Prabhupada at that time…this is the middle of 1973… was a famous-at-the-time singer, named Donovan.  At the time, he was extremely famous.  Now I think everyone has forgotten about him.  He was the British answer to Bob Dylan.  Anyway, he came to see Srila Prabhupada, and actually he was very spiritually minded.  So he was listening to Srila Prabhupada talk about Krsna, and he was loving it.  But unfortunately, his girlfriend was there, and she was hating it.  And she was making these snide comments whenever she got a chance…and saying to Donovan, “What time are we going?”

So eventually she said something to Prabhupada.  “Why you shave your head?  Why you wear those long robes?  Isn’t your head get cold?”…and she was wearing a supa-dupa mini skirt…You know, it was just too much actually, completely in bad taste by any bystanders.  And she had very long, quite bushy hair.  So Prabhupada looked at her… you know, she had her bare legs completely bare!  So Prabhupada said, “Better to have warm legs with robes on…better to have warm legs and a cool head, than cold legs and a hot head!!”  Well, I can tell you she was not happy.  She just got up and walked out.  And poor old Donovan, he didn’t know which way to go.  But eventually he had to go with her.

Then later, some people from the British “Rationalists” Society came to meet Prabhupada.  They are atheistic philosophers.  So they sat down with Prabhupada, and Prabhupada didn’t really know who they were, but he just started talking about Krsna consciousness.  And this one man, after perhaps one minute, one man interrupted him.  He said, “You know, look, we are atheists.  We’re not interested in God.”  They were also ready just to walk out.  But Prabhupada, being so astute, and so tuned into people… Prabhupada said, “Oh, you’re atheists!  That’s wonderful!  I really like talking with atheists.  These religionists, modern-day religionists, they’re just sentimentalists.  They just believe in things.  They have no philosophy.  But you atheists, you think.”  Wow, these men, they were really pleased.  Then Srila Prabhupada started to preach Bhagavata Gita to them, but without saying anything about God, religion, or any of these types of ideas.  And these men…they maybe stayed for half an hour or forty-five minutes…they were so impressed.  When they walked out, they said, “Thank you so much.  That was one of the most interesting discussions we have ever had.  We thought you were also just these religious fanatics who believe in things, but now we can see you are real thinkers and philosophers.”

So, like this, we have to try to think, because Krsna is all-attractive.  No matter what type of person a person is, there is something in Krsna, which they will become very attracted to, because Krishna has ALL-attractive qualities, in full.  So it doesn’t matter if they are, you know, sportsmen…Krsna is the greatest sportsman.  And if a devotee uses his or her intelligence, then they will be able to present some part of Krsna consciousness that such a person will appreciate.  If someone is an action movie fan…James Bond/Rambo and I don’t know who else…all those people…then Krsna, he is the top action hero.   If someone, like so many ladies particularly, but all sorts of people, they are attracted to romance.  Then Krsna, the story of Radha and Krsna, is the greatest love story of all time.

So really, all we need to do, is first of all, understand Krsna very nicely.  Then try to understand who we are now trying to present Krsna consciousness to.  And then try to see, what is it in Krsna consciousness that this person will find really interesting?

There is one story I’ve told many times before… one of our devotees were distributing books in Cape Town, South Africa, during Prabhupada’s marathon.  Here in Vilnius…it maybe nearly -10 degrees celcius.  There it was +36 degrees celcius…anyway, that is by the way.  So there she is, distributing books.  And she met this young, heavy metal boy.  And he was really authentic heavy metallist, only wearing black, long ,oily and greasy hair, very pale skin, and on his t-shirt was a little thing…it was a skull.  And it said…I love….well it was “I”, then a heart, and then SATAN.  So he really looked the part…he was authentic.  She stopped him, and handed him a book.  Bam!  He looked at the book, and he said, “Ja, okay, that’s nice.” Then he said, “Haven’t you got something a bit heavier?”

So she had this one book, maybe you’ve got it  here;  it is called “Dharma” by Srila Prabhupada.  In the pictures there, there is a double-page picture of a man dying.  And his family members are there, and they’re all wailing, and grief-stricken.  And the Yamaduttas are there.  Now the Yamaduttas, they make the best heavy metallist look like a “sissie” who goes to church on Sunday…like some, you know…anyway, you know what I mean.  They make Frankenstein look like a philanthropist…you know one of the cannibalistic zombies from the horror movies… (laughs)… The Yamaduttas make them look like nice guys!  So there the Yamaduttas are tearing, pulling him out of his body.  And everyone is screaming…Yes, it’s a pretty dramatic picture.

The young metallist, he looked at that picture, and he said, “Ah, that’s cool!”  And he gave about 20 meters, he took the book.

So many people, when they see a person like that, they’ll think he would never be interested in spiritual life.  But because Krsna is all-attractive and because he has all-attractive qualities in full, therefore there is something for everyone in Krsna consciousness.  And something for everyone means that for everyone there will be something that they will be completely satisfied with.

So Krsna consciousness is truly universal, and we have to just understand Krsna enough, and at the same time be sort of tuned in enough to people.  To understand what is it about Krsna that this person will love?  So yes, it is a matter of tuning in.  Just like sometimes you have to tune in your radio, or television, or turn the dial to get the picture right, and then you get it, and it is right.  But you turn it a little the wrong way, and it looks like rubbish.  Krsna is everywhere, and there is something for everyone in Krsna.  But you’ve got to connect with Krsna in the suitable way.  Otherwise, if you connect in the wrong way, then the person will think, “What is this? I’m not interested in this.”

In regard to tuning in, there’s an interesting story.  Some of you would have heard this before.  This happened during the great American Depression, in the early 1930’s.  It was financial disaster.  Everyone lost their job.  Everyone ran out of money.  And they didn’t know how to live.  And if there was a job available, then hundreds of people would come.  Any job…even if they didn’t know how to do the job…they would take a chance, and try to do a job.  So, the Western Union Company, needed a morse code operator…Morse code is a system of communicating, every letter is dots and dashes.  So this is a way of communicating.  Every letter has the equivalent in dots and dashes.  So they needed a morse code operator and they advertised.  Five hundred people came.  So the boss said, “Ok, look, just line up, and I will see you all one by one.” So they’re waiting there in this big building and there was construction going on around them… people sawing wood, hammering nails, and they are waiting in line.  And you know, one goes in, and when they come out, the next one goes in.  But suddenly, one man right from the back comes running up, right to the front, and he just ran into the boss’s office, and all the other men in the line…they couldn’t believe it!  “How can he do that? He can’t do that.  He’s got to stay in the line.”  And to make it worse, a couple of minutes later, the boss came out with that young man and he told everyone in the line, “Its ok, I’ve given this man the job, you can go.”  So all the people in that line, they wanted to kill that young man.  So then the boss explained why.  He said, “We are looking for someone who knows Morse code.  And you hear these people banging with their hammers? They are banging in Morse code.  And what they are saying is, “If you understand this, just come straight into my office, I’ll give you the job immediately.”  So you see, they were all there and it was going on right around them, but they were not tuned in.  So they missed it.

So Krsna is everywhere and there is something for everyone in Krsna.  But the devotee’s job is to help them connect with Krsna in the suitable way.

Therefore Krsna is saying here, don’t disturb people by trying to just drag them out of the position they are in.  Help them to see how they can apply Krsna consciousness within their existing situation.  And then even if they are ignorant, even if they are very materially attached, but if they start to connect with Krsna nicely, then they will start getting a higher spiritual taste.  And once they start getting that taste, then they will really become attached to Krsna.  Then they will start to make spiritual progress.  But if you just force them out of their position into some situation which they are completely uncomfortable with… “Ok, you’re a family man, forget your family.  You’re coming with us to the Himalayas.  We will be in the Himalayas;  we will meditate 24hrs a day, in the snow…with no clothes on.  And we will not eat for the first three months.  You are going to love it.  It will be really spiritual.”  No, it’s not really a good idea.  But if you show that person how, in your family situation, how you can apply Krsna consciousness and share it with your family, everyone will be very happy…then they’ll accept it.  So like this, presenting Krsna consciousness to people is a science, and we have to learn how to present it in these very personal and very considerate ways, and not just in a mechanical way.  So this is what Lord Krsna is talking about here.

Once I had the experience of pushing someone too far, the wrong way.  I was distributing books in central London.  I met one young hippie.  So I put the book in his hand.  He looked at the book and he said, “Oh, Krsna?  I know all about Krsna.  It’s all one.  So I don’t need your book.  I’m following a spiritual path.  It’s all one, so I’ve already got Krsna, so you keep the book.  So ok, it’s all one.  You follow this path and it’s the same.  You’ve got Krsna, even though you’re not practising Krsna consciousness.  Krsna and you know the impersonal Brahman, it’s all the same.  Buddha or Krsna, no difference.”

So I said, “Ok, look. You’ve got any money on you?”  And he wanted to know why, why is he asking me if I’ve got money on me.  And I said, “Well, I just want you to show me if you’ve got money.”  So he showed me maybe ten pounds.  I said, “Give me the money for a moment.”  He wasn’t very happy about it, but I said that he should give it to me just for a minute and I would give it back.  “Just give it to me for a minute.”

So he gave me the money.  So I said, “Look, you know Krsna or Buddha, it is all one, right?  Doesn’t matter.  Follow Krsna or follow somebody else, it’s all the same.  So this money, if you have it or I have it, doesn’t matter does it?  If I have it, it means you have it also, because we are one.  So I’ll just keep the money.  Thank you.”  So this young man, he started getting disturbed…he started shaking.  It looked like he was going to attack me…so I gave his money back!

So even though philosophically we caught him there, but because it wasn’t done really in the most suitable way, it didn’t really help him in Krsna consciousness.  Because I don’t know what would have helped him actually…maybe just to give him some prasadam.  But this is really the point.  We have to really think about how to help people, in ways which are actually relevant to them.  Hare Krsna.

Sarabha das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 06 - 12 hr Bhajans - Sarabha das - Hare Krishna.mp3

By Bhakin Rita Gupta

In Srimad-Bhagavatam, Canto Four, chapters twenty-five and twenty-six, Prabhupada wrote purports that are considered "controversial" by some commentators. The supposedly controversial purports are simply another manifestation of Prabhupada's transcendental genius.

1968 January 17: "I am old man, I have no objection to death, still I wish to live because I want to see that the mission I have started may be more stronger still before I leave. So I pray to Krishna for this."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 January 17: "I duly received estimate of Krishna Picture Book. You have said the price is just at your rock bottom. I have accepted the estimate, and very soon I shall send you the manuscript."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 January 17 : "You propose to print Krsna Book in the tens of millions. That is nice, but I think it is still insufficient."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 January 17 : "I count you and your godbrothers among those few who are treading seriously the path Back to Godhead. We must maintain such exalted position and not fall back by neglecting our highest standards. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 January 17 : "I am so much depending on you to take full responsibility for teaching others purely. Otherwise, this pure process will gradually become mechanical and fade away like every other so-called religious movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 January 17: "I was surprised you are contemplating canceling the Vrindaban touring. In my opinion it must be carried out. If there is a little inconvenience, still the devotees must visit Vrindaban."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 January 17: "If you are not intending to send for food distribution, then do not collect in the name of Food Relief. Whatever is collected for India food distribution, must be sent as soon as it is collected, to India."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Srila Prabhupada is known for saying that temples aren't places for
"lazies and crazies." This is a quote from the Narada Bhakti Sutra,
"And Srila Prabhupada was also stern, cautioning his followers, 'An
easy-going life and Krsna consciousness go ill together.' " Another
quote we have heard is this. "There are three types of people: those
who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who
wonder, 'what happened?'"
Laziness can be in the form of mental
laziness, and although "lazy intelligence" is sometimes glorified, it

read more

Dear Olivia,

Here is the vegan mac & cheese recipe you requested. But first, how about some back story, ok?

I’ve had boxed vegan mac & cheese and quite honestly, it sucked goat. Horrible stuff. But then I visited Ryan and Jaime some time ago and they made what they called “pasta meat.”

While “pasta meat” does indeed contain pasta, it contains no meat. Oddly, it doesn’t even contain fake meat. The whole thing comes from a dish they make for Taviri, their boy. They make this mac & cheese recipe and then fry up some sort of fake meat. Taviri, completely unaware of the existence of real meat, assumes fake meat is simply “meat.” And since this dish is almost always served with fake meat, the dish has been coined “pasta meat.” I believe it’s even called that when the fake meat is absent.

So here is Vegan Mac & Cheese (a theme and variation on the legendary Pasta Meat)

Ingredients:
1/2 lbs of pasta - I like shells or elbows

1/4 c Nutritional Yeast
1/2 c Plain soy milk (don’t use vanilla, ok?)
2 T Earth Balance “butter”
1/2 t salt

How to do it:

1. Cook the pasta, drain and put back into pot
2. Add the vegan butter and give it a stir or two
3. Add the nutritional yeast
4. Add the salt
5. Add the soy milk and stir just like it’s regular ol’ mac & cheese

Once it’s creamy, you’re done. Yay!!

If it’s too creamy for you, decrease the milk and nutritional yeast a bit. I like it creamy.

Well I have been advised to go on the ‘Guru and Disciple’ one-day course, it sort of ironic and the term shutting the gate once the horse has bolted comes into mind. Although it does give me the excuse to take a few days off work, surround myself with devotees, Hare Nama in central London and [...]

1975 January 17: "Secure the new building. Be cautious. Do not spoil the negotiation. That building is very nice. We want it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Lecture given by Prahladananda Swami on Srimad

In the introduction to the Teachings of Lord Caitanya Srila Prabhupada explains, "Our real love is continuous and unending, but because that love is reflected pervertedly in this material world, it lacks continuity and is inebriating. If we want real transcendental love, we have to transfer our love to the supreme lovable object -- the Supreme Personality...

Hare Krishna. Please Accept my Humble obeisances.

All Glories To Srila Prabhupada and His Most Wonderful Book Distribution Mission.

In Late September I left my motor home in the U.S. and travelled around the globe to distribute books in Australia. On the way I stopped off in L.A., one of my favorite stops. I met Brgupati, Vijaya, Partha Sarathi, Prem Sankirtana, Sacitanoi, and many other great Sankirtana devotees. The New Dvaraka community is quite large and a little difficult to manage for that reason, plus being in such a large city as Los Angeles but there are so many sweet devotees and so much preaching of Krishna Consciousness going on there that I always have to visit when I can. for many years I did book distribution there also so I really got to like the place. Srila Prabhupada spent a lot of time there also and empowered the community. After Los Angeles I went to Bali Indonesia. My wife and I stayed there for ten days as a sort of spiritual Holiday. There are over 3,000 devotees in Bali. Bali has only a few million people. The population is majority Hindu, so the piety of Hindu people combined with a tropical climate makes it a nice place. The devotees there are amazing. Plus Navina Nirada prabhu was there doing a book distribution seminar so it was especially ecstatic. The Island of Bali is a huge tourist destination so Navina Nirada prabhu was taking the devotees out on Book Distribution and training them up in a very nice way for the first time. The tourists and the locals alike were taking books like never before. That was so inspiring. The Balinese culture is very ancient so the devotees took my wife and I to an ancient temple complex in the Jungle at the foot of Mount Agung-A 3000 foot Volcano. The legend is that Lord Siva Himself lives in the Volcano. While my wife and I explored the temple one of the devotees who drove us was so fired up he distributed books to the temple visitors. This temple was built over 1200 years ago. It's a temple to Vishnu and some Demigods. It's located in a Tropical Rainforest, so it's a very beautiful and auspicious atmosphere. The history goes that Markandeya Rishi himself came from the Heavenly planets for the opening ceremony. The temple is in the process of being renovated because it was neglected for some time. This temple is the mother temple of Bali and many people there believe that since the worship has been neglected Bali has had to suffer as a result. In 2004 there was the Bali Bombing etc. Now that they are reestablishing the temple they hope that Bali will enter into a new age of Peace and Prosperity. After a restful, but ecstatic trip my wife and I farewelled the nicest devotees we'd ever met and flew onward to Perth, Australia. Only 2 and a half hours away by plane. My wife is from Perth, so we stay here occassionally. The book distribution and preaching is very good in Australia so it's always a pleasure to come here for a visit. People here are quite easy going and approachable unlike some of the developed countries. It's actually easy to preach here. The temple has moved to the outskirts of the city where there is more room for development, so we only see the devotees once a week for the Sunday feast which they hold at their inner city restaurant. My wife and I have rented an apartment in the downtown area near the action so we can distribute more books. It's quite a challenge though without a temple for morning program and association, but by Krishna's grace we are distributing a lot of books. We do mostly small books for practicality so we usually don't have big book scores as far as book points, but as far as number of books distributed, we do well. The first day out I had an old copy of Teachings of Lord Kapila that was slightly water damaged. I had run out of books and no one seemed to want it until I met an Indian student named Kapila! He was glad to take it after he found out how much I new about Lord Kapila. Another day during the marathon I saw a man approaching. Just then I had a Deja Vu. Within a split second I knew this man was going to come over, talk to me, and give a donation. I knew what he was going to say and everything. It was amazing. Then I met a group of Teens that get books from me from time to time. They said that they have a special box on their table where they put the books into and they take turns reading from them and having discussions about the contents. They said one girl in particular is always reading the books. I invited them to the Sunday preaching programs and they were thrilled. Another man was a psychic and Medium and he said he knew he was going to meet someone like me that day so gave 20 dollars for a small book. Over all, the response is very favorable and the Book distribution wherever I go is just getting better and better. I hope that the leaders of ISKCON and the devotees in general will renew their efforts to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books all over the world and create a revolution. It is so needed. The environment is in peril, so many wars, famines etc. all can be solved through Sankirtana. It's so ecstatic, that if your not engaged 100 percent in the Sankirtana mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu you are truly missing out on the topmost nectar. Just like while I was doing the marathon here in Perth (The only devotee doing the marathon in Perth unfortunately). There were some devotees coming from other states in Australia distributing stickers and then giving me a hard time for doing books. It was so ridiculous, I didn't even bother saying anything since it was so absurd. To stop the tide of Kali Yuga that is threatening to Tsunami the world preaching and book distribution must be given the most emphasis. Then the golden age of Mahaprabhu can really manifest and there will be no more trouble.

Your Servant, Devaki Nandana Dasa

Hare Krishna. Please Accept my Humble obeisances.

All Glories To Srila Prabhupada and His Most Wonderful Book Distribution Mission.

In Late September I left my motor home in the U.S. and travelled around the globe to distribute books in Australia. On the way I stopped off in L.A., one of my favorite stops. I met Brgupati, Vijaya, Partha Sarathi, Prem Sankirtana, Sacitanoi, and many other great Sankirtana devotees. The New Dvaraka community is quite large and a little difficult to manage for that reason, plus being in such a large city as Los Angeles but there are so many sweet devotees and so much preaching of Krishna Consciousness going on there that I always have to visit when I can. for many years I did book distribution there also so I really got to like the place. Srila Prabhupada spent a lot of time there also and empowered the community. After Los Angeles I went to Bali Indonesia. My wife and I stayed there for ten days as a sort of spiritual Holiday. There are over 3,000 devotees in Bali. Bali has only a few million people. The population is majority Hindu, so the piety of Hindu people combined with a tropical climate makes it a nice place. The devotees there are amazing. Plus Navina Nirada prabhu was there doing a book distribution seminar so it was especially ecstatic. The Island of Bali is a huge tourist destination so Navina Nirada prabhu was taking the devotees out on Book Distribution and training them up in a very nice way for the first time. The tourists and the locals alike were taking books like never before. That was so inspiring. The Balinese culture is very ancient so the devotees took my wife and I to an ancient temple complex in the Jungle at the foot of Mount Agung-A 3000 foot Volcano. The legend is that Lord Siva Himself lives in the Volcano. While my wife and I explored the temple one of the devotees who drove us was so fired up he distributed books to the temple visitors. This temple was built over 1200 years ago. It's a temple to Vishnu and some Demigods. It's located in a Tropical Rainforest, so it's a very beautiful and auspicious atmosphere. The history goes that Markandeya Rishi himself came from the Heavenly planets for the opening ceremony. The temple is in the process of being renovated because it was neglected for some time. This temple is the mother temple of Bali and many people there believe that since the worship has been neglected Bali has had to suffer as a result. In 2004 there was the Bali Bombing etc. Now that they are reestablishing the temple they hope that Bali will enter into a new age of Peace and Prosperity. After a restful, but ecstatic trip my wife and I farewelled the nicest devotees we'd ever met and flew onward to Perth, Australia. Only 2 and a half hours away by plane. My wife is from Perth, so we stay here occassionally. The book distribution and preaching is very good in Australia so it's always a pleasure to come here for a visit. People here are quite easy going and approachable unlike some of the developed countries. It's actually easy to preach here. The temple has moved to the outskirts of the city where there is more room for development, so we only see the devotees once a week for the Sunday feast which they hold at their inner city restaurant. My wife and I have rented an apartment in the downtown area near the action so we can distribute more books. It's quite a challenge though without a temple for morning program and association, but by Krishna's grace we are distributing a lot of books. We do mostly small books for practicality so we usually don't have big book scores as far as book points, but as far as number of books distributed, we do well. The first day out I had an old copy of Teachings of Lord Kapila that was slightly water damaged. I had run out of books and no one seemed to want it until I met an Indian student named Kapila! He was glad to take it after he found out how much I new about Lord Kapila. Another day during the marathon I saw a man approaching. Just then I had a Deja Vu. Within a split second I knew this man was going to come over, talk to me, and give a donation. I knew what he was going to say and everything. It was amazing. Then I met a group of Teens that get books from me from time to time. They said that they have a special box on their table where they put the books into and they take turns reading from them and having discussions about the contents. They said one girl in particular is always reading the books. I invited them to the Sunday preaching programs and they were thrilled. Another man was a psychic and Medium and he said he knew he was going to meet someone like me that day so gave 20 dollars for a small book. Over all, the response is very favorable and the Book distribution wherever I go is just getting better and better. I hope that the leaders of ISKCON and the devotees in general will renew their efforts to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books all over the world and create a revolution. It is so needed. The environment is in peril, so many wars, famines etc. all can be solved through Sankirtana. It's so ecstatic, that if your not engaged 100 percent in the Sankirtana mission of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu you are truly missing out on the topmost nectar. Just like while I was doing the marathon here in Perth (The only devotee doing the marathon in Perth unfortunately). There were some devotees coming from other states in Australia distributing stickers and then giving me a hard time for doing books. It was so ridiculous, I didn't even bother saying anything since it was so absurd. To stop the tide of Kali Yuga that is threatening to Tsunami the world preaching and book distribution must be given the most emphasis. Then the golden age of Mahaprabhu can really manifest and there will be no more trouble.

Your Servant, Devaki Nandana Dasa

Yes I know I published this post last year, but hey, no harm in contemplating this earthy subject...

"Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so." - Tryon Edwards

"If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old." - James A. Garfield

"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy man has no time to form." - André Maurois

"You know you're getting old when the candles cost more than the cake." - Bob Hope

"Time ripens all things; no man is born wise." - Miguel de Cervantes

"The old horse in the stable still wants to run." - Chinese Proverb

"No gray hairs streak my soul, no grandfatherly fondness there! I shake the world with the might of my voice, and walk - handsome, twenty-two year old." - Vladimir Mayakovsky

"For the soul there is never birth nor death. Nor, having once been, does he ever cease to be. He is unborn, eternal, ever-existing, undying and primeval. He is not slain when the body is slain." - Bhagavad-gita

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.23 - Names by which Krsna is glorified in Satya-yuga.

Rasakeli dasi singing a Hare Krishna bhajan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 05 - 12 hr Bhajans - Rasakeli Dasi - Hare Krishna.mp3

If one simply follows the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, under the guidance of His representative, and chants the Hare Krsna mantra, teaching everyone as far as possible the same principle, the contamination of the materialistic way of life will not even touch him. It does not matter whether one lives in a holy place like Vrndavana, Navadvipa or Jagannatha Puri or in the midst of European cities, where the materialistic way of life is very prominent. If a devotee follows the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he lives in the company of the Lord. Wherever he lives, he converts that place into Vrndavana and Navadvipa. This means that materialism cannot touch him. This is the secret of success for one advancing in Krsna consciousness.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Madhya 7.129

January 2009 Newsletter for the TKG Academy.

2009-01-16
Dallas, TX

Recently on our Skype Japa session, we decided to discuss our Japa at the end of the 2 rounds that we chant together. Gopinatha made a comment about the wandering mind and it reminded me of how important it is to be aware or what our mind is doing....if we can be aware of the mind then we can bring it back to the Maha mantra if it is wandering.

Nitai: Spend this Gaura Purnima absorbed in the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! Seminars by HH Indradyumna Swami and HH Varsana Swami.

Abhijit Toley: Dear Prabhus, Here is a review of the latest book by H. G. Chaitanya Charan Prabhu, a brahmachari devotee of the Sri Sri Radha Kunjabihari Temple, Pune, India.

Pratyatosa dasa: Here is our chance to try and catch President Elect Obama's ear on such topics such as right to life, Internet pornography, bringing back the gold standard, animal rights, evolution vs intelligent design, UFO disclosure, etc.

Jagannath Poddar: This park has been developed under the project of Vrindavan Kuda Prabandhan Pariyojna, which is supported by UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme.

“I know that everyone has to die, but I was hoping an exception could be made in my case!” - Leo Tolstoy

Imagine your office building was burning down and while everyone was running to escape, a colleague was sitting at his desk happily checking his emails, sipping a hot coffee and flicking through yesterdays football news. You'd wonder whether that person was actually tuned into reality.

To think about death is actually a requirement to being considered sane. There are a few REAL problems in this world: situations that NOBODY wants, but situations that EVERYONE will experience: disease, old age, and ultimately death.

People in Latin America would hang skulls in their houses to remind themselves. Yogi's in India would meditate on the banks of the Ganges where open-pyre funerals were taking place. The chinese would remind themselves with the famous quote "Life is like a game of chess... the king, the queen or the pawn - they all end up in the box at the end of the game".

A recent study showed that 72% of people who died last year never wrote a will. Maybe they never thought their time was coming, or maybe they just didnt want to entertain the thought. Thinking about death... maybe we don't do it enough. It would certainly make us think a bit deeper about life.