I will be traveling around the country for the month of December. Its the season of goodwill, and as monks we travel through cities sharing spiritual ideas with everyone we meet. We will be everywhere from Portsmouth to Ipswich and from Norwich to Nottingham.


Ofcourse we dont like to use the word preaching... it conjours up images of self-righteous religious practicitoners, claiming how much better they are, and forcibly imposing ideas and worldviews on others. We feel our lives have been deeply enriched by these wonderful scriptures, and naturally feel inclined to share that with anyone who is interested. If not, we wish everyone a good day and leave them with a smile.

The world is in dire need of a spiritual message. The teachings of the Bhagavad-gita are non-sectarian, scientific, extremely practical and beneficial for people from all walks of life. We will carry thousands of these wonderful books of wisdom with us, inviting people to delve into something they may have never thought about... the yoga of love and gratitude...

May bump into you on the street... watch out!

PS: Can you guess the famous actor I met last year (picture above)?

Srila Prabhupada gives a very interesting and inspiring insight into the meaning of the Hare Krsna mantra and the deep understanding of each word contained in the Maha mantra.

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

Here are few quick tips for five areas of your life.

Health
Eat less, dance more (in kirtana if possible).

Sadhana
Chant 16 rounds in one go first thing in the morning.

Service
Do what you love to do.

Relationships
Judge less, help more. Instead of being interesting, be interested.

Finances
Always spend less than you earn.

1966 January 28 :
"Purchased vegetables -- .42
Busfare -- .30
Expenditure .72
Saw Mr. Cohen at his place.
He is to come here tomorrow at 4 pm."
Journal :: 1966

1969 January 28 : "The best news of all is that soon we shall have our own press. Our life and soul is kirtana and presenting literature. Krishna is dictating to you from within how to carry this out successfully."
Letters :: 1969

1969 January 28 : "There is no harm in this mantra, but it is not very important. There are many such common songs composed out of sentiment. In our temple, strictly Hare Krishna chanting."
Letters :: 1969

1970 January 28 : "I beg to acknowledge receipt of your edited transcription of tape #6. Your editing is very good, I liked it very much. I am sending another tape herewith."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 January 28: "At our Pandal we had one drama in which the gopis gave the dust of their feet for curing Krsna's headache. In this way we can present the philosophy very nicely for everyone to relish."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 28 : "The more you please the Deities, the more they shall reciprocate. I remember fondly the sandesh, milk, and other nice products. I am looking forward to coming back."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 28 : "As long as Krsna remains in the center then you are actually in Vrindaban. As your devotional service becomes mature, more and more you shall realize the qualities of the holy land of Vraja. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 28: "Our mind, our intelligence, our possessions, our time, our energies, let them all be used in Krsna's service. By training people in this way, this will be the success of your preaching work."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1970 January 27 : "When I think of Radha-Krishna, I think of first the Radha-Govinda Vigraha of Mullicks Thakurabati. From my very childhood I am devoted to that same Deity. Your ambition to have a place like Mullicks Thakurabati is also my ambition."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 January 27 : "Just like a tree when overladen with fruits becomes humble and lower down; similarly, a great soul in Krishna Consciousness becomes humbler than the grass and bowed down like the fruitful trees."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 January 27 : "To open 108 branches of our society all over the world has been my desire and it is actually happening. Yes, you have my blessings always. You are very sincere boy."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

The Lord will satisfy the senses of the living entities as much as they deserve, but not to the extent that they may covet. But when one takes the opposite way -- namely, when one tries to satisfy the senses of Govinda without desiring to satisfy one's own senses -- then by the grace of Govinda all desires of the living entity are satisfied.

Bg 1.32-35 Purport

Sacinandana Swami: It is a great honour for me to facilitate these japa retreats all over the world. I would be most grateful if you come in great numbers so that we can create a powerful sanga (community) of committed chanters.

Sadhusanga: If we could sit down with Raghunatha das Gosvami and Bhaktivinoda Thakura for a couple of hours, and inquire from them what topics are essential for developing our Krsna consciousness, what would they say?

Radhe: Iskcon Panama would like to invite you to the 5th Annual Ratha Yatra parade. The parade would be held on the 21st of March and would be a unforgettable event for all the participants.

By Matsyavatara dasa

Distorted mental representations, not only generate heavy unbalances and serious pathologies on the psycho-physical level, but also impair our access to Reality.

By Nisha Chopada

Everyone knows about Srila Prabhupada book distribution Marathon around holidays, however, what is this Japa-tha-on? Well. Japathon started at Boise, Idaho, USA temple.

By Vijaya das

For complete results and to send in your scores go to www.SankirtanNewsletter.com (password: wsnhome) Deadline for scores is the 15th of the next month.

Dear Friends, 27 January 2009

We are writing to ask you to help us establish our first Krishna-conscious farm in Michigan. With great pleasure, we wish to inform you that on January 11, 2009, our non-profit organization, The Michigan Society for Cow Protection (MISCOWP), signed a sales contract to purchase a beautiful 80-acre farm in Whitmore Lake, Michigan.

This farm project will be called Vedic Village. Our inspiration comes from Srila Prabhupada’s desire that devotees establish spiritually centered farm communities based on cow protection and agricultural self-sufficiency. We believe that this farm, working together with the Detroit Hare Krishna Temple, presents an extraordinary opportunity to expand the culture of Krishna consciousness and attract the hearts, minds, and souls of a great many people. Vedic Village is strategically located, far enough from suburbia to be nestled in peaceful farmland, and close enough to major cities to be a convenient drive. It is less than a half hour from Ann Arbor and Chelsea, and less than an hour from Lansing, Flint, and the Metro-Detroit area. We plan to interface with society on all levels, especially the education system and agricultural community. Before long, we would also like to develop a chain of sit-down, drive-thru vegetarian restaurants.

To help finance this project, and to provide the best produce and milk products possible to the Detroit Temple, our congregation and the general public, this Spring we plan to develop a 15-acre garden on the farm where we will cultivate over 40 types of organically-grown heirloom vegetables and fruits. By early summer, we also plan to have our first milking cows. We will offer community-supported agriculture (CSA) shares to at least 108 families for our first season. This means that people can redirect to our project some of the money they normally would spend on commercial produce, and thus receive a 10-15 lb box of fresh produce each week for 21 weeks during the growing season. Please see the attached 7-page CSA packet for more information and to get a good general understanding of our goals for Vedic Village.

Srila Prabhupada has pointed out that every major endeavor requires four things, namely land, labor, organization and capital. By Krishna’s grace, we have the land. Now we are asking for your help with labor, organization and raising capital. Please allow us to present our “wish list,” which includes some of the volunteer service and donations we need for our project to get off to a good start. Remember that because MISCOWP is a federally recognized (501)(C)(3) non-profit organization, all in-kind service and monetary donations are tax-exempt.

Volunteer help: In brief, we need help with fund raising; financial planning; grant research and writing; recruiting CSA members; garden design and construction; farming; carpentry skills to renovate the barn and outbuildings; care for the cows and oxen; and help with secretary, treasury and public relations.

Donations needed:
$1,000 a month to cover the $12,000 rent for the first year
$2,400 for the cost of purchasing organic, heirloom vegetable seeds
$900 for 30 fruit trees
$600 for 100 blueberry bushes
$450 for professional help to formulate a business plan
$1,500 for liability insurance for the first year
$500 for an assortment of garden tools and several wheelbarrows
$500 for 120 specially-made durable reusable Vedic Village CSA boxes
$3,500 for four 6-7 month old Zebu bulls at $800 each, plus $300 for transport expenses
to pick them up in North Carolina and bring them to our farm. (Two are a pure Indian
breed called Gyr, and the other two are American Brahmans, which are a mix of several
Indian pure breeds. Please see the attached photo of the two Gyr calves. In mid
February, we would like to bring them from North Carolina to a friends heated barn
near Vedic Village where they will receive much loving care. Eventually, we will learn
from Balabradra prabhu (co-founder of ISCOWP) and other experts how to train them
for agricultural purposes.
$1,500 to purchase several beehives, bees and equipment. We need bees and other flying
insects to pollinate our open-pollinated vegetable and fruit plants.
$2,000 for equipment to use for ox plowing and hay cutting.
$15,000 for a 3,350 foot long 8 foot high deer fence to protect the garden.
By May we will also need a sizable walk-in cooler, a delivery van, and a mini bus to transport people back and forth from the Detroit Hare Krishna Temple and Vedic Village.

We have faith that Krishna will help us every step of the way to develop this farm for the benefit of as many people as possible. The overall goal is to demonstrate to the world a healthy God-centered lifestyle that can be replicated anywhere. We believe humanity and Mother Earth needs Krishna consciousness more then ever and we are dedicated to develop a model educational farm community that everyone can appreciate.

If you would like to donate your time, join our team, or have any questions, please either call or email me at (313) 823-3815 / tommilano108@yahoo.com. According to your inquiry, you may be put in touch with either one of our two vice presidents, Antariksa dasa and Navadvipa dasa. If you would like to contribute towards any of our projects, please make your check out to MISCOWP and send it c/o Adiraja dasa, 313 Newport, Detroit, Michigan 48215. You will receive a receipt within two or three days. We also accept payment by credit card. In closing, we would like to thank you again for your interest in the success of Vedic Village and we look forward to your participation. Hare Krishna!

With warm regards,

Adiraja dasa
President MISCOWP

This is the headline from an interesting article posted on the BBC web linked here: cows find milky way to happiness It highlight one thing we already know and understand how personal and loving cows really are, saying that the question remains why do so many people want to kill and eat them? Interesting article go read

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on January 28, 2009 at ISKCON Ujjain.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.15 - Chapter 9: Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on January 28, 2009 at ISKCON Ujjain. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.15 - Chapter 9: Brahmārsquo;s Prayers for Creative Energy

Bridgend County Borough Council (BCBC) invited me to attend the Holocaust Memorial Day (27-1-09) being held at the Grand Theatre I had two hats to wear one as a member of the Standing Advisory Committee of Religious Education (SACRE) and the other as a member of the faith community i.e. a Hare Krishna. One of the things [...]

Inspired by my reading of "Vaisnava Compassion" by HH Satsvarupa Maharaja

"If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."-Jesus Christ, The Gospel of Thomas

We carry within us the most divine of possibilities, and by the process of Krsna Consciousness, we come into full bloom, into the full potentialities of ourselves and what we are capable of doing in service to the servants of the servants.

The great catch is that also within us is Krsna Himself, and as He has said, He will preserve what we have and carry to us what we lack, so in actuality our abilities to serve and to love in our divine nature and connection with Krsna is unlimited.

We know that unless we bring these divine potentialities forth from within us, we will be stuck on the wheel of samsara, forever witnessing the snake of the material nature eat its own tail.

In relating to compassion, we must learn and strive and struggle to open our hearts to the living inhabitants of this world, big and small. If we do not cultivate this sweet flower, then we've barely begun on the golden path of devotion to Krsna.

***

In his article "Attracting Krsna's Compassion", Maharaja states it plain: We must come before Krsna in a state of complete poverty, in a state of complete dependence at His lotus feet, and in this way we will actually receive His mercy.

This is heavy. I've had close associates in my life get on my case for showing overt dependence to those I love and need. The values of our contemporary society force us to stand independent, without the emotional connections we survived on as a child.

The problem is that trying to stand on our own leads always to tears, fears, and failure. It is truly an act of the greatest surrender to live and give our life in such a way that we give up all independent aspirations and become fully dependent on Krsna.

Maharaja writes:

"Spiritual poverty refers to the awareness and admittance that we have no spiritual qualities. The scriptures are full of lists of devotional qualities-devotees are completely attached to Krsna, completely honest, meek, humble, clean, surrendered, nonenvious, well versed in the scripture, and simple. We must face that we don't actually possess these qualities. When we face that fact, we can before God as we truly are: without anything."

It takes a hell of a lot of courage to explore and even experience our own deficiencies. In my own life, it's become pretty clear that I have only the slightest idea and realization of these key devotional qualities.

My only hope is to somehow put myself into an environment where I can be constantly humbled, in both pleasant and unpleasant fashions. This is my only worth.

This spiritual poverty is actually so glorious, if we can actually accept it with open arms and with diminishing returns from our false ego.

It may be a sign of weakness in material estimations to show over-dependence to those who have the ability to protect and/or exploit us, but it can give us the greatest strength to actually develop the qualities of a Vaisnava if our relationship with Krsna becomes a desperate state of reliance, confidence, and trust.

Mayapur is getting prepared to host a grand Gaura Purnima festival. The flavour of Gaura Purnima is already up in the air with all the devotees getting busy in preparing to serve the devotees. In another 28 days, devotees will arrive at ISKCON Mayapur to celebrate the 523rd appearance day anniversary of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Officially the festival will be inaugurated on 24th Feb. with hoisting of Garuda flag.

read more

While on the yoga retreat this past weekend, between astanga yoga workouts and loading on carbs, I read a few books. One of them was Ian Cohen's autobiography / history of Australian Green Activism book: "Green Fire".

Sean Marler, Greens candidate for Moorooka in the last local elections, brought a bunch of nature books along, and I found it among them.

From the back of the book:

Ian Cohen, the Greens member of the NSW Upper House, has worked for the green movement since 1980. His primary focus has been the refinement of direct action tactics and the consolidation of a broad-based people's movement for social change. He is a founding member of several environmental protest groups, including the Broken Head Protection Committee, Stop the Ocean Pollution, Nightcap Action Group and the Clean Seas Coalition, and has campaigned electorally for the Greens since 1984.

At the end of the book he includes an appendix examining the concept of NVA, Non Violent Action. He closes with these two paragraphs, which I think apply to any revolutionary movement that seeks to foment change in the social status quo:

The understanding of issues comes with continuing debate. When a theory translates into a mass movement it can become a dogma. This packaging simplifies its complexity. It assumes that people cannot understand the nuances of the broader philosophy thus disseminating a rigid set of ideas. This leads to a limited form of radicalism which is either blindly adopted or rejected. Reactionary forces either radical or conservative will not further any cause.

In a truly revolutionary movement a society can grow from the unexpected, evolve from processes rather than try to control them. Participants in change must accept that the movement cannot unfold exactly as pre-planned. Respect for the diversity of ideas and actions of individuals is what makes the movement powerful.

The book is interesting for a grounding on environmental issues in Australia, and a history of direct action. Parallels can be drawn between the direct actions of Australian environmentalists and Australian Hare Krishnas, their civil disobedience and a change in the social status quo as a result. There are important lessons in this book for the future for both environmentalists and Hare Krishnas.

After reading it I got a renewed sense that we are only on the face of the planet for a few short years, and our role is to responsibly steward it. The same mentality that leads someone to say: "God gave man dominion over the Earth, that's why we eat the animals" leads to exploitation and pollution of the environment. Our sacred duty is the protection of the water, the soil, the forests, and the animals.

You can download a pdf of Green Fire from Ian's website for free.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.38-40 - Two types of pure devotees who descend from spiritual world to fulfill Lord's mission.

Lord Brahma to King Priyavrta:

My dear boy, all of us are bound by the Vedic injunctions to the divisions of varnâs'rama according to our qualities and work. These divisions are difficult to avoid because they are scientifically arranged. We must therefore carry out our duties of varnâs'rama-dharma, like bulls obliged to move according to the direction of a driver pulling on ropes knotted to their noses.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 1 Verse 14

Here's a nice piece on elephant care in Mayapur...

While I am caressing her trunk, Laksmipriya makes soft growling sounds. She makes me reflect back to the time which made me want to care for Elephants the way they deserve.

On April 1st, 2006 was a day when I promised myself I wanted to make a difference in the life of an elephant. It was the day when our temple elephant Gulab Kali died. It was a day that I will never forget.

This story resonates with me personally. I used to work at the Adelaide Zoo in the mid '70's and got to know the elephant quite well. She was very affectionate and responded in kind. If she didn't get the reciprocation she wanted then she could be quite upset to the point of dangerous. I recall sticks and branches being thrown in my direction when Samorn was upset with me.

Most of ISKCON was upset when Gulab Kali left her body. It is inspiring to hear of the care being taken of the new elephants in Mayapur.

Hare Krishna Extremist Regimes:

• Conservative: You are stoned if you don't show up to mangal-arati
• Liberal: You are stoned and you don't show up to mangal-arati

That's my idea of a joke...

Here's another one:

Hare Krishna fanatic bumper sticker:

"WWPS? What Would Prabhupada Say?"

Feel free to photoshop and spread the meme...

Tarakanatha Prabhu - bit of a joker! Prema’s ey…

Cooking classes are continuing here for the girls at Mayapur Academy and we had the great pleasure of learning and witnessing how to cook over cow dung fires at the Gurukul! It was such an amazing experience and the feast was just sumptuous.

It makes me realize how fortunate we are to have been given this gift of Vedic culture. The sad thing is sometimes we forget how practical it actually is and instead we feel that, "That was something people could do in other ages, not in Kali yuga." Seeing how the boys at the Gurukul are cooking and living so simply like this is such an eye opener.

It really is our choice. We can choose to live simply and be happy, or else we can choose to live with distractions. It should be noted that living simply doesn't mean one has to live in the forest, one can be very materially situated and still choose to live simply.

This is something I have direct experience of as in the span of not even three days, Krsna is presenting me with experiences of two extremes of living simply in two vastly different situations and being happy in Krsna consciousness. The Pune Yatra takes place due to the efforts of so many devotees. One of these devotees is HG Krsna Chandra Prabhu & family, at whose bungalow the Yatra takes place. HG Krsna Chandra prabhu and his family give everything that that they have for Krsna. Krsna has given them so much materially and the amazing thing is that they give it ALL in the service of Krsna and the vaisnavas. Because of that complete surrender to Guru and Krsna, they are blissfully advancing in Krsna consciousness.

That being said, now I got the wonderful opportunity to see how by living so simply one can be so happy. Ultimately we have to choose the situation that best helps us advance in our spiritual life. For most of us, it will probably be somewhere in the middle of these two extremes I've mentioned here, but the most important thing is to remember Krsna. May we always remember Krsna and never forget him!

BY ABHIJIT TOLEY PHOTOS BY TUSTI MOHAN KRSNA DAS Applause. The kind that bursts out from the hearts of the audience after a moment of stunned silence. The kind that seems to last forever. The kind that no one wants to ever end. The kind that follows a moment that everyone wants to etch into their memories [...]

Saturday, 3rd Jan, 2009. It was just past midnight. We just arrived at Armidale airport. There was a light misty rain and Domo wanted to sleep. I had a brief walk to check out our surroundings but found it was too cold and retreated for our chariot cover. I was not sleepy. After less than half an hour we headed off. I was now starting to feel the stress of the drive, nodding left and right.

At about 2:30am we stopped for another break. Domo found his sleeping bag, made a cacoon and then lights out. I didn’t have the same luck. I might have scored a rough hour of sleep at most. That was all for the night.

After a good while me and Domo arrived at Stanthorpe. We decided that it would take to long to go to Brisbane and instead to make a short cut to Byron Bay for the day’s harinam. We stopped for some local directions. I folded off a few to Domo and we hit the road. Domo started making up his own way and we some how, by the divine will, made it onto the road our friend had directed us on.

We ended up on some wild settlers road which was probably only used by rednecks and kangaroos. The road managed to take many 30 second detours to check out all the boring towns on the way. Eventually Domo lost faith in the road and started making his own way again.

We some how managed to stay on the same track and it was turning out to be a long ride. We started carving our way up a mountain. And then down into some crazy rainforest valley. It was a typical Australian mountain road: many blind corners, barely the space to fit one car on there (what to speak of oncoming traffic) and a perilous plummet off the side down a 500m or more cliff face to your rocky and bloody death. So naturally we were both very excited.

After coming down this mountain, running very low on fuel and not seeing any signs for almost half an hour, me and Domo were getting a little anxious. We were deep in the perils of Woop Woop and didn’t want to end up stuck there. Only cannibals live this far away from the coast and the car pollution. Eventually we were relieved to see a sign to Boonah, our first destination in our “short cut”. This was still a fair distance from anything reasonably populated.

We passed through and started our way for Beau Desert. We came to a sign saying 100km to Gold Coast. It had seemed like we had been driving in a total spiralling zigzags and had not made any real ground. We sought some local’s directions, then double checked and then triple checked and decided to take the other road to Kyogle, a far neighbouring town of Murwillumbah and Byron Bay. Down the road a little more we took a forth opinion just in case.

She gave us another “short cut” which actually seemed to work. On the road I was reminded of an old memory. We dropped HH Makunda Maharaja to the Brisbane airport some 10 years ago. My father suggested take the road through Beau Desert to avoid traffic lights. It turned a good old 2 hour trip into a 5-6 hour adventure of long roads, little signs of life and a back seat of car vomit. This was the same road we were now on.

We rocked into Kyogle and Domo sent me to seek directions AGAIN, JUST IN CASE. He wanted the fastest way to Byron Bay. We were hurling our way there but we just couldn’t get there fast enough. All of a sudden I found myself on the phone with HH Indradyumna Swami! “Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada” I said nervously. He was telling how the harinam party was almost in Byron Bay with no mrdangas!?

I gave some directions to the music shop so they could purchase a jembe for the harinam party. We kept cruising on the way and made it half the distance, past Lismore City. At this time Domo thought it would be good to open the windows. He did something I do often in my car, accidentally open the back window instead of the front. In a normal situation this is fine but when the car is SO PACKED that things can fly out the windows!….So we lost something…But what was it??

By the time we found out that it was our power drill, the drill had already been put into overdrive. By overdrive I mean it was driven over and it was no longer living on the mortal plain. It had ended its repeated turn of birth and death and screw turning and had transmigrated all over the road. We said some quick words and very quickly started back off.

At last, we just made it to Byron Bay. By some divine arrangements the devotees had only just started harinam in the last half an hour and were comfortable with not one, but two jembes. We jumped out for only a moment so Domo could establish the speaker and other sound arrangements and then we hit the road again with no delay.

We made our way out of Brisbane and for the first time in many hours we were on a motorway. We headed up the coast till we crossed the boarder of New South Whales to Queensland. We took an immediate exit into the sleepy coast town of Tugun. We parked the car out of sight and out of mind and I led Domo down a little way to a set of Units on the beach. I buzzed the intercom and we were forwarded on.

I rushed ahead of Domo and paced up a stair case. The door opened and it was family reunion time. We pre planned a visit to see my parents for some reunion, rest and prasad. Domo took to the bed in a quiet little room with blinds down to make it seem like night. I took to first course and some delightful sat sanga with the ma, pa and little bros. We made a call to Nitai, my elder brother, in Canada for a full family reunion. After some time Domo finished his nap and started on the lasagne while I stuck into the sweets.

After some nice introductions between my home family and Domo representing my tour family, it was time to make our way to our new home for next week or so in Brisbane. We bid farewell and exchanged hugs. Me and Domo hopped back in the half wheelie chariot and scorched the road with our rubber. We quickly found our way into the back blocks of Brisbane.

We rocked into Sakhi Roy’s illustrious house to join the crew after their harinam. We were immediately greeted with cake! It was only a small piece but a lot to add on to the cake and lasagne we previously honoured only an hour or so before. I was asked by Maharaja to call my chief TP, Ajita Prabhu to keep our lovely devotees out of one of our programs in Byron Bay, to save seats, and to invite them to another program in Gold Coast, to fill seats.

Me and Domo decided to unload our donkey cart/chariot/car and give the suspension some much needed relief. We came back in for a personal/public instruction from Gurudeva to young Kancana Mataji. He was stressing the importance of the holy name to her but I could see that everyone in the room was attentively listening and taking the instructions also to heart.

After some mucking around we hit the much needed hay. We had survived our long journey through the outback and wilderness of Australia. We had seen some cool places and met some nutty people. It was a good changing contrast from tour but a real energy drainer for the upcoming marathon to come. I was fussed over when I refused to use a bed and preferred my simple yogi mat for sleeping. Eventually they agreed and I tucked under my sleeping bag. I was glad for one thing in particular as I was nodding off; there weren’t going to be any bhuta botherations here.

1973 January 27: "Krsna is unlimited, and His devotees' service should also be unlimited. I am glad you wish to increase your service still further."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 January 27 : "Gurukula is our most important project. I have already given instruction on how the teaching should be conducted there. Try to make it the model educational institution in the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

Kirtan at White Mountain Yoga and Powerpoint in SLC by Caru Das

Okay. So I didn't mean to snub you. I just needed a little privacy. If you were a reader of my old blogs you know I have such moments.

Here we are. Back together. Open invitation.

I can't make any promises that I will update this thing anytime soon, but at least you are warned.

XO D

So I set my blogs to invitation only...me being the only reader invited. Maybe you already know.

But here we are again. I am taking (I think) a blog vacation for now. I am a bit overwhelmed by the amount of email, etc. that the blogs generate.

And, well, I need my space.

But since taking blogs offline generated even more email...including a worrisome plea by my mother-in-law requesting that I don't say bad things about her on the blog behind her 'uninvited' back...I decided to return.

At least in my blog form.

XO D

1975 January 27: "I am very much depressed by the recent incidences. It is now evident that some of our top men are very much ambitious and there have been so many fall-downs."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 27: "Under the circumstances, I have asked him to come to me. I shall try to rectify the mistakes and as previously arranged, as GBC he can act as my secretary for at least one month in a year."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 January 27: "By Krishna's grace, the higher learned section are appreciating our books. That is the only hope for pushing on."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1966 January 26 :
"Went to see the tape recorder. Found no good.
Meeting at the Church at 4 West 76th St at 7 pm.
Expenditure
Butter -- .44
Busfare -- .30
.74 "
Journal :: 1966

Prabhupada: There is no devotion unless you go to a guru. Forget it. Adau gurvasrayam. First thing is, first business, is to accept a bona fide guru. Otherwise there is no devotion. It is simply false imitation. This is the injunction of Rupa Gosvami in Bhakti-rasamrta sindhu. Adau gurvasrayam: "Your first business is to approach bona fide guru and take his asraya." Otherwise there is no devotion. That has been the defect in the modern society. They imagine. This business should be given up. He must follow. Sadhu-marganugamanam, which is prescribed by the sadhu, guru, you have to accept that. You cannot manufacture your own way. Guest (3): The world is so vast, and people who are living in this world and also wishing to attain God or remember God or say about the God... Also the namaskaram is, Gurudeva said, that, mentioned in the Gita, that all these are fruitless, the soul which is remembering God either in the form of Krsna, but he has not met a guru. Because to get a real guru is a real occasion. It doesn't happen in the case of everyone. One in million get a chance to get a real spiritual guide. There are so many in the name of spiritual guide. And he will false pray because his inner soul hankers and inner soul thinks that "This is my guru, and somehow I will accept whatever he says." And the ultimate aim and objective is to love God or to recite his name or surrender to Him. Prabhupada: This question has been answered by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu while He was teaching Srila Rupa Gosvami. ei rupe brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151] The guru word is there. Guru Krsna. If you are actually hankering after Krsna -- Krsna is within yourself -- He will give you a guru. He will give you a guru. Guru-krsna-krpaya. But we must be fortunate to get real guru. If I am unfortunate, I'll not get a guru. Otherwise why Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, guru-krsna-krpaya paya bhakti-lata-bija [Cc. Madhya 19.151]? Mali hana se bija kariya aropana. In this way you'll find in the Caitanya-caritamrta. So even Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He accepted guru, Isvara Puri. He is Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna Himself. As Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya said that, vairagya-vidya-nija-bhakti-yoga- siksartham ekah purusah puranah sri-krsna-caitanya sarira dhari... [Cc. Madhya 6.254] He's the purusa Purana, Krsna, but now He has appeared as Krsna Caitanya. So he also accepted guru, what to speak of our... Krsna also accepted guru. So how you will get the ultimate goal of life without accepting guru? Why do you manufacture this idea? There is no need of manufacturing this. You have to follow. Mahajano yena gatah sa panthah [Cc. Madhya 17.186]. If you manufacture, then you'll be cheated. Don't do this. That has become a fashion, that you manufacture your own way of service. That is not possible. Therefore Rupa Gosvami stresses, adau-gurvasrayam: "The first business is that you must find out a bona fide guru." Then other things.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Evening Lecture -- Bhuvanesvara, January 23, 1977

1968 January 26 : "Your husband is living with me very peacefully and he is carving Radha and Krsna from hard wood. This life of material existence is just like hard wood and if we can carve Krsna out of it, that is the sucess of our life."
Letters :: 1968

1969 January 26 : "I must take this so-called botheration for Krishna. The Goswamis left their posts for living in Vrindavan just like paupers. They preferred to accept so much botheration because they were compassionate."
Letters :: 1969

1970 January 26 : "I have read over the presidential agenda and have noted the pertinence of all the items. Now let us see the results of the conference and the practical outcomes of the subjects under discussion."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 January 26 : "That is the sign of successful preaching, if by your presence the devotees become enlivened. It is not very difficult. Just read from my books and try and explain the meaning in your own words."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 January 26: "I have received my copy of special BTG. Thank you very much. With great pleasure I note that although the Government of Kenya did not allow me to enter, my work was not hampered on account of my absence."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 January 26: "Train the Africans to preach and that will be a nice reply to the Government for not letting me come there. Krsna will give you the necessary intelligence, and send me occasional posts. That will give me satisfaction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 January 26: "You have dedicated yourself to the service of the Lord, therefore you are always glorious. Please go on preaching like that and you will be blessed."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

The Sticky Rice Cookery School in the Adelaide Hills hosted me again last weekend. Here's some photos of the event. Thanks to team member Nichole for snapping the pix on her mobile phone.

Nitai and I do some last minute contemplation before the class commences.

Some early arrivals gather their class notes.

One of our huge male crew {sorry, I forgot your name} rubs in the ghee to the flour to make our samosa dough. Almost half the class were men! That's a record.

The spuds are being peeled in preparation for the samosa making.

Some vital ingredients for our Indian Shared Table.

Fruit being cut for our fresh mango chutney.

Nitai has a go at stirring the carrot halava.

We've made the samosa dough and the filling. Now it's time to roll the dough into balls, cut them and fill them.

Deeply absorbed in the cooking events...

Kitchen alchemy in progress.

The idli batter is carefully spooned into the 4-tier steamer.

At last - we sit and have our entree - idli, sambar and coconut chutney.

Come and join us in April at Sticky Rice for a brand new menu.

By Champaka - lata dasi

Adorned in rainbow colored summer attires, Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Radhanath were beautifully anointed with chandan paste and taken out that evening to enjoy boating pastimes in the temple's famous moat.

Mukunda Datta das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 13 - 12 hr Bhajans - Mukunda Datta - Hare Krishna.mp3

Hare Krsna everyone. I hope you have had a nice weekend and that your coming week is full of nice realisations coming from nice chanting.
The Japa Room this weekend was full of nectars, some devotees shared their prayers and the mood of surrender, humility and complete dependence on the Lord were awakened naturally.
The mood of praying is always nice and members of the room, particularly this stage because of prayer....the feeling that it brings and all of us notice how praying is helpful when we can't concentrate and also chanting with attention.
Listening to the japa retreat from Alachua yesterday, I liked the example a devotee gave, simple example of how you can be chanting but inattentive, you are there but not with the mind, just the body.
He gave the example that when he calls his daughter and she is usually doing something else, like looking at the computer screen, paying attention on her things and talking to him, after some time she asks him, " What did you say? Can you repeat, please?" meaning she didn't pay attention because she was just with her body there but the consciousness was somewhere else. The same happens when we are chanting and our mind is wandering around to so many places but not focused on the Holy Names.
I tried something that worked yesterday, I chanted all my rounds right through and when my mind wanted to do something else or to stop chanting, I just said that we should finish that round and then another one and then I was trying to trick the mind till I finish all my rounds. It was a hard job but worked, in the beginning we may feel uncomfortable but after some time we may find ourselves peaceful , completely happy. This is something so difficult sometimes that when it happens I celebrate and also thank the Lord for that.
Being grateful everyday is one of my prayers before chanting and also during the day....other members of the japa room also found this a good mood for praying. When I am grateful for what I have....I avoid complaining and I am accepting what the Lord has given me, it helps training the mood of surrender inside myself.
May our week be full of bliss and nice realisations with Nama Prabhu.

Hare Krsna.

your servant,

Aruna dd

This is the second set of photos from the festival.

Dear devotees, disciples and friends,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

I last wrote to you from the Baltics Winter Festival in Kaunas, Lithuania some days ago, and you’ve seen some of the photos from there. I’ve posted some more with this message.

It was a wonderful event, and more so because of the presence of His Holiness BB Govinda Maharaja. One thing I forgot to mention was that on his birthday, Sunday the 12th of January, we gave him a special birthday present. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Govinda Maharaja does not eat at all!!!! He doesn’t eat anything. Nothing. All he takes at the moment is water with maple syrup and some spices mixed into it.

So for his birthday the devotees did some research, and Doyal Govinda, one of the leaders of the Lithuanian yatra found some organic maple syrup, so we gave that to Maharaja as a present.

I must admit though that he did have a tiny mouthful of his birthday cake, after violently pushing it into my mouth!

The festival finished that evening, with a kirtana that was so fired up the devotees became very hot, and to cool them down Govinda Maharaja and ISKCON threw water over them again and again. Finally Maharaja got about a 20 liter bucket of water and threw it over everyone!

We returned to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, that evening, and then the next morning Ananda Caitanya, the Chairman of the Lithuanian National Council, who is my trusty translator, returned to Kaunas to spend a couple of days at the Kaunas temple.

As I mentioned last time, Kaunas was one of the very first places in the former USSR in which Krishna consciousness really took hold. Ananta Shanti had met Srila Prabhupada in Moscow in 1971 and after only one or two day’s association with him became a completely fired up preacher, and gave up everything to travel around the Soviet Uniion preaching to people.

The temple building we have there belongs to ISKCON, and there is a full programme going on on a daily basis. The preaching in Lithuania is being led by His Holiness Bhakti Sharan Shanta Maharaja. He joined in the Communist days and became so inspired that he gave up his family life and joined the temple, even though at that time he was about 40. He was initiated by Harikesa prabhu, but some years ago was reinitiated and given sannyasa by myself, in the company of Niranjana Maharaja, who is co-GBC there with me.

Now Shanta Maharaja is about 70, and chants at least 64 rounds a day and oversees the book distribution in the Baltics and many of the Nama Hattas.

After a couple of days there Ananda Caitanya prabhu and I went to Minsk, in Belarus, the next country to the east of Lithuania. Belarus is still closely connected to Russia, and is not like your typical European country at all. We saw this as we drove over the border, through passport control. Normally I travel in devotee clothes, but today I had to wear western dress, in case someone prejudiced would not allow me to enter the country.

Their mood was fairly mean, as if they didn’t really want people coming into their country. We had to go to the counter and present ourselves and they checked us out and made sure we were the same person as in the photos in our passports. They looked at me for about a minute and then told me “take off your hat.” The temperature was about minus 5, but I had to take off my hat and expose my freshly shaved head, complete with my very big sikha.

I thought we might now be in trouble. Perhaps they would realize I’m a Hare Krishna and not allow me in. but after a minute or so of staring at me, and then looking back at my passport photo, and then back at me, and so on, they let us in.

As we drove out we were stopped by a Customs man. He wanted to see the documents for our vehicle, a large Plymouth van.

“What sort of car is this?” he asked in Russian.

“It’s a Plymouth,” our driver, the Regional Secretary for Belarus, Damodara Pandita told him.

The man had never heard of a Plymouth, and the car didn’t have the name written on it, so he became bewildered. “Oh no,” I thought. “More trouble.”
“What is it?” he asked again.

:It’s a Plymouth!” Damodara Pandita said, raising his voice a bit.

“A what?” the man asked again, getting a little agitated.

Damodara Pandita then shouted the name with a strong Russian accent. “Plee-moot! Plee-moot! Pleeee-moooot!!”

Suddenly it clicked and the man stepped back. “Oh! A Plee-moot!”

He signed our papers and we were away, finally.

Damodara Pandita prabhu’s now famous Plymouth had a defective machine for spraying water on the windscreen, so as we drove through the snow with the other vehicles, the windscreen quickly became dirty and I wondered how he could see anything. But he had a good system for dealing with that problem. We stopped, he picked up a whole lot of snow, threw it over the windscreen and then turned on the wipers. Immediately the window was completely clean.

The devotees in Minsk illegally built a large temple there in the suburbs, and the city authorities wanted to tear it down and would not allow the devotees to register ISKCON, but after many years of serious difficulty, now everything is legalized, and the movement is registered as an official religion in the country.

The devotees in Belarus are very bold, as devotees tend to be all over world, and they take whatever opportunities they can to spread Krishna consciousness. One of the senior men there, Vikshara prabhu, was telling us how, some years ago, when the Belarus President, a staunch Communist at the time, was being installed, somehow the devotees got through the security and did harinama right in front of the installation programme in the middle of the city.

Vikshara told me this as we were having a sauna in his house. Saunas are not something I like much, but in order to be sociable I agreed to go. The temperature was about 80, and I told the devotees how, previously in
Johannesburg, South Africa, we had had a sauna in one of our farm communities, and we would go in at least once a day, and sometimes twice. Once it was 120 degrees, which is hot enough to back a potato, and we were practically fried to a crisp.

Having had to take a few saunas, or banniyas, as they call them in Russian, I have learnt the Russian word for torture. Vikshara asked me in Russian “kak banniya?” (how is the sauna?), and I replied “peetka!” (torture!). He looked at me momentarily, and then laughed.

On the 19th we drove back to Vilnius, and I flew out through Frankfurt to South Africa. I spent two days in Johannesburg and Pretoria doing some programmes, and now I’m in Durban.

On Sunday we had a nice boat festival for the main Durban Deities, Sri Sri Radha Radhanatha, but I’ll explain about that next time I write, after a few days.

Hoping this meets you well.

Your ever well wisher,

Bhakti Caitanya Swami

Trails & Troubles

We began our journey from San Jose, bidding a fond farewell to our friends.



Our friend and God-brother, Gauranga Kishore is an inspirational force in presenting Krsna Consciousness to the thoughtful and educated people at Stanford University and the San Francisco Bay area.



When venturing out into the unknown, the only tools of the trade are faith in Lord Jagannatha, and a willingness to join His Divine Adventures!



The landscapes are breathtakingly gorgeous. There's nothing that can be said but "Jaya! All glories to the Lord!"



Fuel stations are few and far between, so when our gauge light came on empty, we decided to use our well-thought-out emergency reserve fuel supply.



The only problem was that we didn't get a funnel, and our spigot was too short to open the gas safety-flap. So being the adventurous type, Rasikananda found an old plastic paintbrush handle on the side of the road to prop it open, but on removing it, a small part broke off inside the tank! Oh no!! Lucky enough we called a local Land Rover dealer who said it shouldn't be a problem. There's a good filter in there that keeps debris from clogging the line, and probably the fuel will just dissolve that old plastic.

Whew! Krsna saved us again.

More to come!

Hare Krishna ! All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga ! All glories to Srila Prabhupada ! All glories to all the sankirtan devotees at all the times !

One Power company chairman met His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj last year at New Delhi India and ordered eight thousand Bhagavat Gitas straight away. Maharaj cultivated him, gave him an award last year, sent him Ekadasi Prasad several times and spoke to him. As a result, this year he ordered ten thousand six hundred sixty seven Bhagavat Gitas.

This is loyalty rewards program.

with regards, rakesh uberoi new delhi india.

Recently, Hrimati mataji represented ISKCON Mayapur and MAP to attend and presented a paper on Elephant Management Practices in Mayapur at the “National Symposium for Elephant Health care and Management Practices”.

A three day event held at the College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara, Guwahati. It was organized and sponsored by the Directorate of Project Elephant, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, New Delhi. At the end of the Symposium the Participants received a Compendium, Souvenir and Certificate. The delegates and the audience appreciated the holistic approach in elephant care in Mayapur.

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Buxton, Guyana

It was in Buxton a year ago today that racial tension struck hard in this small bedroom community of Georgetown. The army was forced to step in to resolve a merciless shooting of children in their sleep. Things have relaxed somewhat since then. It was only appropriate that the Padayatra (festival on foot) was initiated today and under the theme of peace and unity. The response was generally favourable.

As a classy shaped cart was pulled by foot-festival-participants, people came out onto their balconies to view. It was not exactly like balconies of the aristocracy. Rather, many homes are built on stilts. The homes are the balconies. Some folks actually came to the roadside to receive some small token of sweets. It was not just humans that expressed excitement. Cows, horses, goats, and pigs picked up on the resonating sounds of drums, cymbals, and chants. In that sense humans and the fury domesticates share space quite closely in Guyana.

A portion of our route occupied one lane of the two-lane coastal highway. Exposure of the exotic cart was great as it enshrined the glowing images of Caitanya and Nitai, two revered visionaries of medieval India who demonstrated no differences as to one’s ancestral background. In other words, their message of goodwill, bhakti – the devotional path, was an open door pathway for all. In addition to the Padayatra program, Rupa from New York and I tackled 20 kilometres on foot headed east of Georgetown. It is the third country that I’m fixed to walk across after Canada and Ireland. My dream is to roam the globe.

20km

Georgetown, Guyana

In metaphorical fashion, the book “Light of the Bhagavats”, by author Srila Prabhupada, likens lost souls to the thundering clouds. To quote, “The forgetful living entities, individually and collectively, make sounds like thundering clouds: “I am this”, “It is ours”, or “It is mine.”
In a similar way, the forceful Guyanese sea breeze whipped its way across the flat coast as if to say, “I’m here”, “I’m strong”, “I can move things”. All night the wind made his presence known through sound and touch. He crept through my window at the house of host Haresh and Dolly, just a two minute walk to the Atlantic sea wall constructed first by the British and Dutch in the mid 19th century.

Haresh, Radha Gopinath from Toronto, and Rupa from New York, accompanied me on a westbound trek by the sea wall from Haresh’s home to the Pegasus Hotel. We had taken in the breeze, the sun, and the humidity. As early as 6AM, people are already lined up to relax, or snack, or fish, or to do puja, a Hindu ritual with the use of coconut and flowers. Some men were sitting with bird cages containing their pet song bird. They readied themselves for a competition with each other, a routine Sunday morning practice, betting on whose pet would sing the longest.

My sponsor for the trip to Guyana is an accountant from Canada, Ram Lila, who came to whisk us away by vehicle for an abhishek, a liquid ritual for the sacred images of Caitanya and Nityananda, two stalwart foot travelers from the medieval times of India. I spoke on the significance of Padayatra, a celebration for pedestrians who sing, dance, and drum in rhythmic fashion, before an enthusiastic community who would participate in a village to village foot journey celebrating the joy of the soul for the coming walk.

A trip over the Demerara River by way of a crude bridge to Crane, a town with a second community, was looking forward to tomorrow’s padayatra. Our small crew savoured the local cuisine of dahl puri, split pea soup, and fresh locally matured fruit.
The inhabitants in the land of plenty water, Guyana, are of two major descents – those of the Africa and India. Both groups generally respond well to outdoor events to do with any beat in the heat. Personally, I can’t wait.

12km

Source: savethecows.wordpress.com Happy New Year! January 26, 2009 marks the beginning of the Chinese year 4707. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, this is the Year of the Ox. The Ox, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, symbolizes prosperity through hard work, resolve, and tenacity. While economists hope this fortells a bullish financial market, we at [...]

Hare Krishna ! All glories to Sri Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga ! All glories to Srila Prabhupada ! All glories to all the sankirtan devotees at all the times !

One Power company chairman met His Holiness Gopal Krishna Goswami Maharaj last year at New Delhi India and ordered eight thousand Bhagavat Gitas straight away. Maharaj cultivated him, gave him an award last year, sent him Ekadasi Prasad several times and spoke to him. As a result, this year he ordered ten thousand six hundred sixty seven Bhagavat Gitas.

This is loyalty rewards program.

with regards, rakesh uberoi new delhi india.

One cannot avoid the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, not by the strength of severe austerities, an exalted Vedic education, or the power of mystic yoga, physical prowess or intellectual activities. Nor can one use his power of religion, his material opulence or any other means, either by himself or with the help of others, to defy the orders of the Supreme Lord. That is not possible for any living being, from Brahmâ down to the ant.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 1 Verse 12

New Vraja Dham

The mercy of Srila Prabhupada and Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is unlimited and make almost everything possible, as it has been happening with the recovery of H.H.Jayapataka Swami, my Guru Maharaja. Although if we consider it for the last weeks, it is almost similar but today when I went to the physiotherapy section to see His Holiness, I found that for the first time Maharaja was able to stand alone with the help of some holding bars under the guidance of the physiotherapist.

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Gaura Yoga is back, and fresh for the new year we have a creative new website with an online booking system.

You can book classes online using a Visa or MasterCard. Booking guarantees your place at our popular yoga classes. No need to queue up an hour early to get a space (bookings need to be placed the day before the class).

You can also buy vouchers at Gaura Yoga, in case you don’t have or don’t want to use a credit card. These vouchers are to be redeemed online as a pre-paid booking, not at the door. They also make a great gift for friends and family. Vouchers are available either as single trip or discounted 10 trip voucher.

The biggest of my chili plants is with child! We had a few days of tremendous heat and then lots of electrical storms and rain. Seems that's just what was needed. I counted ten flower buds on this plant.

I am sure many more will be popping out soon. If you look left and right of the main bud in the central section of the ultrasound below, you can see more buds. I'm pacing the patio, handing out carob cigars. Well, I guess I shouldn't count my chilies before they're hatched. Still, the biggest excitement is knowing which variety they are.

Anyway, the new babies will be in good company. In my new giant white pots I have a whole lot of other baby herbs literally bursting with health. Most of these plants, like my miniature continental parsley, were planted as established babies rather than grown from seed.

Here in Australia the greens below are called silverbeet, and there's a few varieties in this little patch. Hopefully I'll be able to go out and pick leaves when I need them.

Basil! Juicy and fragrant new arrivals at my Botanical Fawlty Towers.

I was happy to find a healthy young lemongrass plant at the markets the other day. He's now standing straight and tall.

With home gardening, it's not so much about the results as it is the journey. Maybe it would be cheaper to buy fresh herbs, but growing your own is so much more fun.

Thursday, 1st Jan, 2009. I think it was Gaura and Sri Prahlad who burst into my room and yelled “happy new year!” I dozed back off. I took a glance at the clock at around 1am. It was about 9 when I finally fully manifested. I caught up on some serious Zs after the Peat’s Ridge festival. My mission for today was to return to the God forsaken valley of Peat’s Ridge and rescue the last remaining troops. Me and Gaura noticed Domo had returned so we presumed he had taken my place, feeling sorry for me. Domo is compassionate and will put himself in uncomfortable situations if he can tolerate to save other people anxiety. I also figured he would call me if when and if he needed me.

It was getting late and I was hungry. Breakfast had been polished off a long time ago and all that was left was the kitari. I wasn’t feeling quite renounced but I was feeling a little niblish. I remembered my secret stash, courtesy of Vraja Kumari, stashed under my car seat. I scavenged it up. Melted chocolate and Pringles. I shared the Pringles with Gaura and did some rasa bhasa and used the chocolate as a dip (try it before you diss it).

I spent the whole morning in a zombie state. I was recovering mental strength now that my body had received some sleep. I was doing a lot of minimalist thinking and over all millage. Eventually Domo rocked up and he was not happy. I was supposed to come and I didn’t and he had no mobile credit. I made a big doo doo on that one. He some how arranged it all, being a trooper and I felt a little foolish. I came out to see if I could do any final minimal help with the unloading.

I asked Dina “where is Adam?” I was curious to catch up with the young fellow. “I don’t know?” relied Dina. “What do you mean you don’t know? He’s in the temple somewhere?” I replied. “No he was at Peat’s Ridge, but he didn’t come with us.” “Who did he go with?” “I don’t know. Some person he was preaching too.” “Are you serious?!” Adam had gone gun ho, met a new friend and was very misty about the whole thing. It was a bit of a worry. We didn’t know who this guy was, although I remembered being introduced to someone Adam made friends with. It was all a bit in the air. Dosha Bass Boy was gone.

Eventually Domo hit us up to come to Govindas with him. I took this to mean I wasn’t still in the bad books with him for being neglectful, although I think I have an eternal tick in the stupid books. I went through the back door of Govindas to open it up for Domo to move some gear. I passed KK. He mentioned there were a few familiar faces upstairs. I found Radhika and Nila from New Govardhana peacing out in the Cook’s lounge.

After some pasta with Domo and Mathur, some desert and another proposition of Gaurnak to be a workin class man, we headed off. I was spacing out and feeling a little discouraged. We had lost a member from our crew and he still hadn’t made contact. “Let’s do sankirtana scores” Gaura suggested, “that’ll cheer us up.” It took a while to get to the sankirtana scores. There was a lot of distractions. Adam’s where a bouts was becoming a more serious issue. We had to do the grown up thing and tell his mother soon (the boy may be in his 20’s but lets face it, a boy can remain a boy till over 30 and will always just be a boy to his mother).

Adam’s mother was very worried when she received the call. Gaura broke it to her and she would only speak to him after that. The only problem was she was always calling on my phone. Eventually we did do the book scores and then I needed to head out and do my japa. It was wayyyy late for japa but it wasn’t going to chant itself. Before headed out to the park I chanted a small nrsmha mantra for Adam. After this I knotted my bead bag to my wrist and headed out.

The park was wild. There were winds in every direction, fearful flashing lights and many other fearful circumstances. I was speculating it to be all bad omens and was worrying myself even more. It wasn’t exactly the most encouraging scene being next to the temple/X morgue.

Eventually the park was to freaky, so I hit the streets. A car flew by, a teen had his head hanging out the window yelling profanity at me for being a devotee. He must of forgot to switch off his ignorance switch. Do people think before they do these things? The only thing that came out of it was he got an honourable mention in the diary. But I don’t think he is an avid reader.

A bunch of late night party boys were cruising the streets. Some skinny dudes in tacky woo tang style attire. They looked like their only strength was their number. One approached me in a fumbling manner. He was an Indian boy and he was asking if I had any cigarettes. “No man, I am a monk.” I get a kick outa saying that haha.

Eventually I got the japa all done-skies and headed back in. It was some time past 11. I made my way through the ashram and crept into the room….all the lights were on?! “Why in God’s name are you guys still up?!” I was told that Adam’s mother had called the police and they had come around to ask everyone questions. I couldn’t see any cake or late night maha so I presumed these statements were the truth.

After I settled in I went out like a light. The aftermath of Peat’s Ridge was upon us. Adam was still no where to be found and no contact had been made. I’m sure his mother was climbing the walls by now. I was waiting to expect inappropriate calls from her at any given moment and to interrupt my, already unsound, sleep. I blanked out, for the day was over.

Friday, 2nd Jan 2009. I awoke to deal with finances. The tour was over so it was time to secure all monitory losses and gains. After this was some breaky and some hecticness. I received some calls from Adam’s mother, who still hadn’t manifested. I was trying not to picture him chopped into pieces and in a garbage bag somewhere.

I came to the room and found the boys had been reading the diary. They loved it mainly. Domo was a bit upset with me because in my spaced out ecstasy of writing I had not established our blissful vaisnava relationship. I had many times commented on him chastising me and telling me off and yelling at me for something I did clumsily but I had not mentioned all the jokes and pranks and other little things that come and go unmentioned. He then went on to threaten “if you do not mention something nice about me I will shave your chest!” So ummm….Domo is a real great guy, he’s good looking, he’s like a super pure devote, he’s ummm Polish also.

After all this commotion Domo sent me on a mission to return a Guitar Amp we used for VOP. We were to return all extra equipment we hired for the concert….except maybe Adam. While I was entering my chariot someone interrupted me. I was handed a piece of paper. I stopped everything. I quickly thought what to do and then I ran back upstairs to our room. I threw the piece of paper into Gaura’s hand. “That’s Adam’s number! He just called the temple!”

I then ran back to my car, put Tomtom onto Kiwi accent and drove to the hire venue. “Efta Three H’ndrid Mitas, tern lift.” I also had Tomtom moo every time I went over the speed limit. It was like being in a dairy. After dropping off the amp I hooked it back to the temple.

Upon returning I bumped into Dina Dayal. He, in his uba humble brahmacari manner, requested me to put up another diary entry up for all “the assembled Vaisnavas”. My diary passed the purity test. If Dina could appreciate it than it was fit to be consumed by all “the assembled Vaisnavas”. We were in a rather celebrative mood. We had finished our business in Sydney, Adam wasn’t in a body bag and it was new year. Mathur jumped on my harmonium and decided to lead some melodious bhajans to enthuse us all.

After some epic bhajan factor the big question was starting to arise: “What am I going to eat?” I tried to think of other things, like my inattentive japa, but eventually Krsna reciprocated. I felt a bit spoiled by the lord. I was tipped off from my contacts that there were some Prahladhananda Swami remnants in the kitchen. I scoffed the maha before you could say “hare krsna” and continued on my way.

After lunch it was official the Sydney leg was coming to a complete close. We packed the car to drop off all the gear we had borrowed from Pratapana. then I flew around the block with Transcendence music while Domo drove the van for it‘s last run. We popped into Govindas, dropped off our extra van and some stuff and then headed to Pratapanas. I was disappointed as the matajis had polished off the goodies.

Upon entering the car Domo was commenting that I was crazy. I think he was a little worried that he was going to spend over 10 hours driving alone with me in the car. He started the ignition. Just when I was about to plea my case my loud crazy transcendence music came on and Domo’s point was confirmed.

Times were serious now that we were back at the temple. We were doing the epic packing session of my car. We were fitting the usual contents of 2 vans and 1 car in just the 1 car. We were just getting into the packing when Adam arrived! It was a little shocking to bump into him but I was so relieved to see him. I met Sasha, Adam’s friend he had met on the festival. He seemed to be a pretty cool guy. Adam showed him around and got him some small prasad.

Sasha then dropped Adam off to the airport to head to Brisbane. I wished Adam all the best as he was no longer travelling with the crew. He was off to Brisbane where he would hang out with the Atma Yogis. Sasha surprisingly enough returned to the temple, took prasad and made some apology for the seeming disappearance of Adam. Domo was pretty busy with packing but I made the effort to talk to Sasha about the Krsna Conscious books he was reading and different things. He took my number and told me to give him a buzz when I was heading to Sydney to do sankirtana.

We were done with packing. After what seemed like forever we packed the car so much that the back tires looked like they would contact the frame. We threw our stuff on board and collected what foodstuffs we could. Dulaba sponsored my first and last pizzas from Sydney temple, I scored my last maha from the maha tray and Domo scored some chocies from his wife. This was a good rasa bhasa mixture to fill us up till the first junk food stop. We said our goodbyes to Radha Gopinatha and hit the high road.

It was interesting to predict what Brisbane had in store for us. Sydney was great and seemed to increase in favour at every event. We had learned a lot from Peat’s Ridge. Being used to the 300,000 of Woodstock n Poland the guys were shocked to attend a festival of only 3,000. Brisbane would be a totally different crowd. Sun bakers and beach bums.

It wasn’t a drive on tour without a good few mix ups. Our last mission was to make it to New England Highway and that would take us to Brissy. We some how came to a junction with a bridge. I said to go over the bridge, Domo said to keep going. We went over the bridge and it was the wrong way. On heading back Domo now wanted to go south instead of his original north. I was keen to go north but knew it wasn’t the New England Highway.

We went north, stopped at the petrol station for some ice cream and directions and the hit the road. There was one problem, the man giving directions told Domo to keep going north and instructed me to go back where we came from, and not over the bridge. This was all confusing. We went north and then turned back realising it was the wrong way. We went UNDER the bridge, choosing not to take it again and found our way finally back to the New England Highway and on the way to Brisbane.

Back from Pune Yatra! All I can say is WOW! I don't know what I have done to be the recipient of such extraordinary mercy. It was just such an incredible experience to be in the association of so many wonderful devotees including HH Radhanath Swami, HH Candramauli Swami, HH Bhakti Caru Swami, HH Bhakti Visvambhara Madhava Swami, HG Sukavaha dd, HG Cintamani dd AND HH Jayapataka Swami! :D

This year was the 22nd year that Pune Yatra took place and it was estimated that over 4500 plus devotees were there! How amazing. HH Radhanath Swami was mentioning in the inaugural address that the entire purpose of Pune Yatra is to hear and chant in the association of devotees. And the lengths these wonderful devotees who organize the festival go to to make one feel so welcome and looked after is unparalleled. The prasadam was nectar, the accommodations were super comfortable and the association was mind-blowing.

On top of all that, it was historic because this was the first preaching program HH JPS attended. And what love there was. When it was announced that Maharaja would be joining us, the applause and "Haribols" that resonated was simply deafening.

My memories of this trip are too countless but some highlights that I hope to etch in my heart (and in no particular order):

1. Feeling how much love the devotees have for HH JPS and how much he in turn loves them.

2. Developing even more faith in Krsna after seeing how amazing HH JPS is. Maharaja is so clear, lucid and humorous. One can see how much Krsna loves Maharaja and the result is that Maharaja bestows that love to everyone.

3. Running into devotee friends that I didn't expect to see and getting to spend quality time with them.

4. Making new friends with the wonderful devotees in Mumbai/Pune etc.

5. Hearing HH Radhanath Swami speak about the importance of devotee association and vaisnava seva

6. Seeing the wonderful Nrsimha deva drama and Bharata Maharaja pantomime.

7. Becoming totally inspired to spend more time serving and worshiping Tulasi devi after hearing HH BV Madhava Swami speak about her.

8. Seeing and experiencing the love and affection all the devotees have for one another.

9. Meeting so many of my godbrothers and godsisters from Ukraine/Russia!

10. Being astounded by the fact that devotees had arranged for 3 FM radio channels that were broadcasting translations of everything going on in Hindi, Russian, Marathi (and perhaps even more!).

I am simply overwhelmed at having had the opportunity to attend Pune Yatra. If you are every in India (or not!) please try to attend. It's an experience that will nourish and inspire you.

PADAYATRA IN GUYANA

Hare Krsna,

In the Japa Room, there is a lot of emphasis placed on chanting and hearing the Holy Names in an attentive mood, with great humility and just concentrating on the sound vibration.

I like the following short recollection, as it is somewhat humorous, but extremely serious at the same time. It is recalled in "Planting The Seed" by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami page 214:

A long-haired girl sitting close to Swamiji's dias raised her hand and asked, seemingly in trance, "When I am chanting, I feel a great concentration of energy on my forehead, and then a buzzing comes and a reddish light."
"Just keep on chanting, Swamiji replied. "it will clear up."

"Well, what does the chanting produce?" She seemed to be coming out of her trance now.
"Chanting produces chanting," he replied.

Haribol,

Chuck

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.37 - Sankirtana is the cure for all diseases including Death.

Bhagavatam class given on 26th January, 2009

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.36 - Enlightened persons appreciate the essential value of Kali-yuga..

Preaching work is the best service, if you preach rightly. If you preach wrongly, that is disservice.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SPL 7-5: Seattle, 1968

Srila Prabhupada, our founding guru of the Hare Krishna movement, had a desire to have widespread prasadam (sanctified food) distribution around the world. In an ongoing endeavor to fulfill this desire, the youth from ISKCON Toronto have been distributing prasadam to Toronto's homeless.

This past Sunday, 100 bio-degradable take-out containers were filled to the brim with delicious hot pasta and treats and were personally handed out to the homeless on the street. While some of the volunteers distributed the food containers, other devotees created a wonderful atmosphere by performing harinama-sankirtana, chanting and singing, as they happily sang the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Additionally, two large trays of hot pasta were delivered to a homeless shelter for distribution later in the day.

This Food for Life program takes place on the last Sunday of each month and all volunteers and food/monetary sponsorships are welcome. If you would like to participate please contact ffltoronto @ hotmail.com

See Below for Photo Gallery from this Month's Food For Life!

Most recently I had a bit of an exchange with Bhakta Dave about the idea of “leaving ISKCON”.  In his post he was describing how he was advised to leave ISKCON and take shelter elsewhere as there are plenty of other places he could take diksa from much easier. In regards to this post I [...]

Mukunda Datta das singing the bhajan "Hari Haraye Nama Krishna".

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 12 - 12 hr Bhajans - Mukunda Datta das - Hari Haraye Nama Krishna.mp3

For the last few months, our Toronto Hare Krishna newsletter has been back up and running and copies can always be found at the front desk at our temple. We also now have our newsletters online and will try to keep archived copies of them available for our blog visitors!

We hope you enjoy this new feature of the blog and we thank the Pandava Sena youth group of Toronto for managing the responsibility of publishing the newsletters every month!

You can find the newsletters, available for download, in the sidebar of our blog along the right hand side.

Previous Newsletters:
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008

The Sunday Feast recording this week featured the debut concert by ISKCON Toronto's new kirtan band, Gaura-Shakti! In lieu of posting the webcam recording (which was broadcasted online), we will instead be posting high quality video highlights from the concert, along with a small report, later this week. Stay tuned!!!

I’ve been kind of slack lately about making my blog entries…

should be more active soon… watch this space!

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on January 26, 2009 at ISKCON Ujjain.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.13- Chapter 9: Brahmā’s Prayers for Creative Energy

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami Maharaja on January 26, 2009 at ISKCON Ujjain. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 3.9.13- Chapter 9: Brahmā's Prayers for Creative Energy

I have been reading some lovely postings by Radhapriya Devva Dasa she has also highlighted a rather quirky youtube posting thats well worth watching you can find it here: Just to get everyone in the revelutionary mood Hope you all enjoy it as much as me