The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

The terms from this vocabulary are used as image upload categories,
where each category is a separate container for uploaded images.

Hare Krsna everyone. I hope your week has been blessed by the Lord and you have been able to chant nicely. Today I got so many nice inspirations from devotees and wanted to share them here.

1968 February 7 : "If some of my selected followers form a Kirtana party and have an extensive tour all over the world I am very much hopeful of being successful . We shall consult together. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 7 : "Regarding your proposal for opening a center in London: I am prepared to go there at any moment. Even I do not mind the severe cold."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 7 : "Man proposes, God disposes. I do not know what is Krishna's desire, but I have chalked out my program. Pray to Krishna that He may give me strength to render some service to you and humanity at large."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1975 February 7: "It is the mercy of Krishna that you are getting fair warning of your nearing death. You must be very careful and always praying to Krishna that you will not forget Him at the time of dying."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975:

1975 February 7: "Everyone has to die sometime. Take advantage of this advance notice, consider it a blessing and prepare yourself to go back to home, back to Godhead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975:

1969 February 7: "This is against the will of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura and Srila Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. I therefore request you to give me a plot of land within the precincts of Sri Caitanya Math."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 7: "Why this mentality of suppressing the facts? Will you kindly let me know why you have suppressed so many facts? Don't you know the history?"

1968 February 7: "He is very clever man to collect fund. He is proposing individual mantra and he is charging and allowing his disciples to enjoy life as they like. It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss."
iPrabhupada Letters :: 1968

Corriverton, Guyana

Rama Lila, my sponsor to Guyana, was telling about the early days, which were very tough. It was the early 1980s before he was married when he, along with a handful of monks, lived as ascetics in their own makeshift home made of branches. When it rained, everything inside got wet. The morning bath was in the creek in the region of crocodiles. Rama Lila himself would fell select trees and then chop them for firewood for cooking purposes. Gas for cooking was too costly. Humble beginnings! Now there are temples and ashrams!

While walking there is always much time to think. I thought of some of the people who approached me during the jaunt. One woman explained that her husband left her and she firmly believed that it was a “black magic” endeavour induced by her mother-in-law. She wants him back and so all I could do was offer my prayers and even suggest that I could talk to him if he was willing.

Another boy, sixteen, told me the doctors had given him until May to live. He is suffering from leukemia and wanted to know how he could put a closure to life, peacefully. My prayers go to him.

Rupa, Ravin and I took to walking the beach at a point. What a pleasant relief for the feet but not for long! As I was half-walking/wading, I accidentally stepped on a foot-long, dead catfish. The scales clung on to my foot which I swiftly kicked off. It was painful! After two hours, my right foot, inflamed, terminated my walking for the day. For the rest of the evening, I lay bed-ridden, with a constant uneasiness. I didn’t want to conclude my walk of Guyana in this way, but destiny dictates as always.

25 Km

By Radhaprema Devi Dasi

The official opening of the temple in Aravade is set to turn the usually quiet bucolic village into a buzzing, spiritual wonderland, with thousands of cosmopolitan devotees from all over the world descending to engage in the festival, unarguably a first for this pastoral land.

Monday, 5th Jan, 2009. We were still up from the night before. We stopped at some petrol station in Brisbane for a recharge. Me and Sadhu were making an official video clip for our tour crew sound track of Transcendence. We came back from Byron Bay pretty tired but also with a full bladder. This became a decent complication when the light wasn’t working in the bathroom. We tried to exchange it with others but found it was specifically confusing. We tried to use a lamp in a power socket. Sometimes the simplest things in life are the most difficult. All is well that ends well though and so it did and so we went to sleep.

I awoke late, naturally. It was another Gujarati feast which included home made yogurt and some delicious subji. I felt like I was flying around India again like I had done less than a year before. We quickly departed for Sakhi Roy’s for some cup cakes… “Why are there so many cakes in this house?” I thought. After some rejuvenation, some re-cake-eration and whatever else, we headed out. It was Gold Coast time!

I dropped into the temple to pick up my crew. It was me, Sadhu, 2 Manipuris and Lal Krsna (one of the Brothers). I drove in the lead and made my own way there. I arrived in Surfers Paradise (dubbed Sufferers Paradise) a little earlier than the rest. I parked where I normally parked for the New Govardhana weekly harinams. Each week we used to do a harinam in Byron Bay and Surfers Paradise. I took the boys into town, past the tallest residential building in the southern hemisphere.

I took a detour from the main track to show them our centre, second floor of the Trust House (programs on Wednesday and Saturday nights. Friday night Gurukuli Bhajans. [advertisement]). I always liked to see the different Krsna Conscious projects around the globe and also liked to share them with others. The boys seemed to like the little spot we had going and once I took them to the next most important point in Sufferers Paradise. We rocked up at Govindas Restaurant. It was looking as flash as ever. At this time I made some calls to actually find out where the harinam party was and how long I would be waiting. They were still twenty minutes out and eventually they started on the other end of Surfers?!

Before we headed off for harinam I caught up with my Kuli friends Bhisma (or Big Bishi [my little brother was called Little Bishi]) and Kalindi Bindi. I talked to Kalindi about the Kuli Mela due in Aus for 2010. Jasmin was passing the idea that I could be one of the main organisers for the project and I was seeing what Kalindi had to say about this. She was totally confused and thought that Jasmin was talking about a “Madhu” not me “Maddy”. As per the usual I was mixed up for some other random guy (this happens to often??).

Enough said and done we were off for harinam. Or were we? I had lost my twin. As per usual it was waiting on the twin. He had gone to the car to fetch a spare set of kartalas. The boys were calling me on the phone from the harinam party at the same time, exclaiming “we need kartalas!”. Eventually Lal manifested and I “lightly” encouraged him to move faster.

We caught up and the brass symbols started up. The sound was awesome. I was looking out for my local friends who normally commented on our tiny harinams and was ready to boast. The harinam was large, had a sweet sound, was colourful and was totally organised. It was impressive to bring such a thing into the grey and confirmative Sufferers Paradise.

Indradyumna Swami called me to the front. I was appointed to keep the harinam party out of the “illegal” zones. Technically it was illegal to do such activities in the whole of the Gold Coast but in this case, there were more sensitive areas. The main spot was anywhere near the Centro Mall. This was the heart of Sufferers but it was also harinam bombed some time in the golden days. The populace were deeply Krsna scarred and so we had to be sensitive.

I was on all decks. Calling down flier distributors, redirecting the whole harinam party from the front. I was very much a part time kartala player in this whole thing as my roll as local informant took more emphasis. Gaura called me “Fearless Leader”, I called myself the “Fearful Leader”. It was my job to be totally paranoid at every point. I was rushing across streets and everything just to keep the devotees from stirring up enough public distress from the merchants to call in the fuzz.

We circled on the opposite side of the mall till we came to the beach front. This was another sensitive spot and it was camera surveillance (like most of the sensitive spots on the Gold Coast). If we were moved on by the police they could threaten us with a 24 hour ban from Gold Coast with a risky $800 fine per head if we returned in the time frame. It would also make any other harinam attempts in the future a lot more difficult. I had all the matajis withhold fliers and Gurudeva was on my case until I reassured him we could proceed in only a few meters.

When it was time to presume flier distribution I saw in the distance something big and blue. There were 3 police officers coming down the board walk. I was ready for a harinam shut down and I was pressuring the anxious ladies on fliers to withhold until the heat had passed. As soon as the uniforms passed the whole of Sufferers was bombarded with our advertisements. It was happy sailing for the most of it after this. We kept the same route and did the circuit again.

On the second round I stopped with Gaura at an Aussie tourist store. Gurudeva wanted a cap. We were trying to pick out the most novel hat that he might wear including a pink hat with a kangaroo illustration. We picked up the merchandise and then rejoined the ecstatic harinam.

We came back around on the beach for a second round of harinam. I considered taking the party down the boardwalk and then quickly changed my mind. To onlookers this would have looked a little strange, doing circles. Eventually I was signalled that harinam was over and it was time for lunch. I offered to take them faster way past the police station, as a joke. The party was in agreement. I told all the matajis to hold back handing the fliers out in front of the station but I didn’t catch everyone. Isabella passed one straight to an off duty police officer stepping out of the station. The evidence was in his hand now.

Later someone told me that someone dropped a watermelon on the devotees car from a block of units. Domo had already been to this police station to lodge a complaint. While he was in there one of the local merchants was phoning the station exclaiming “The hares are in town!”. After all the anxiety we had no lash back from the local law enforcement for our illegal street procession and our illegal flier distribution. This is a sure sign that the people loved it and there were only those few loose complaints.

I signalled Sri P and he finished the harinam off and we crossed the road to Centro, the place we had been statically avoiding the whole day. I led the devotees through, and back out the back to Govindas (why am I always getting lost?). The exhausted harinam crew was ecstatic to honour prasad and raid the lasi fridge. I took the time to talk to Garuda, from the usual New Govardhana harinam crew about the massive harinam that went down. It was a lot in comparison to our usual 3 or 4 member harinams.

After the big feast we rounded the troops off and went back to base. I dropped the boys at the temple and then me and Sadhu spent some time to brain storm our way home. After a few loops around the block, some confusing ideas of where we were from both parties, we made it to our illustrious abode. We rested up, found out the code for the wireless and then slowly made our way off to bed for the upcoming day of festivities.

Tuesday, 6th Jan, 2009. I rolled out of bed as late as possible. I sat on the computer proof reading some Sri P magic. Someone once told me that good writers are terrible editors. Is it then an insult that people ask me to proof read things? Here I am helping another edit their material and all the while I was receiving complaints that my diaries needed editing. Ironic?

After another breaky session we rocked over to Sakhi Roy’s. Indradyumna Swami was sitting at the table with some of the crew, taking their breakfast. “Maddy sit and have breakfast” said Maharaja, indicating for me to have a seat. I was put on the spot. Only days ago I was just a background boy on the tour. Now I was being called by my personal nick name. I was being asked to join the nights of the square table. I had to resign the offer unfortunately. I felt like Durvasa Muni must have felt after taking his bath near the Pandava’s ashram, feeling full after Krsna honoured but a morsel of food.

After a little kick back time I was off to the temple. I bumped into Jaya Vijaya Prabhu. He was talking to Dina about doing some training. Jaya Vijaya teaches Tai Kwon Do in Brisbane. He also hosted my little broth while he was staying in Brisbane for some trade training. It seemed Dina Dayal was going to stay at Brisbane and do some intensive training with him after tour. The two spiritual warriors. Jaya Vijaya was putting HH Bhakti Tirtha Swami’s concept of “Spiritual Warrior” to its most literal example.

I rounded some of the troopers and we took off down to the Gold Coast early again. Sadhu questioned my sense of direction as he could see me driving away from Sufferers Paradise. I pretended I didn’t know the way (which was usually the case) and surprised him when I made my way to our venue in a neighbouring part of the Gold Coast City.

I was receiving texts from my friends in New Govardhana. They were waiting for a harinam party to arrive in Surfers but were becoming more and more impatient. They ended up arriving at the venue to “associate” (hang out). It was Craig (now Krsna Gana Prabhu) and Gaura from New Zealand. It was a great little reunion for me, staying in the ashram with Craig and not seeing Gaura since I had been in NZ. They left after some fun to head home for their pizza party. The Woodford survivors were being treated to a pizza pacification.

Besides the special guests from New Govardhana we also had HH Prahladananda Swami passed through on his way down to the farm from Brisbane. I was rushed off to Twin bomb Sufferers with Lal and Braja. After this I went window shopping for the tour’s lighting. I checked out a lot of places but due to the chrissy party season there wasn’t even a spare light bulb for us to replace one that blew up at Byron Bay. It was hanging over the book table and the explosion cost me a higher taste sale.

The show was an epic show up of devotees. It was otherwise one of our smaller gatherings. It was also like a granule reunion with heaps of Kulis from New Govardhana Gurkul and other places. There were also a few familiar faces from Mayapur including Sucih Prabhu, Abhaya, and the kulis I saw there from NG including Ksana, Malika and little Kalindi and Muki Man. Mohini also showed up. She had been on the tour for a lot of our first leg in Sydney.

After the crowd of friends had shown up the celebrity rolled in. Half of my family rolled up and from their car stepped HH Makunda Goswami. Obeisances were laid and I was very happy to see him. Just before tour I was visiting him weekly to do the humble task of bringing him some prasad just to score the darshan. Otherwise I had seen him frequently over the years as he stayed in our house and a cottage my father built for him and otherwise tended to like staying in the New Govardhana region. He had just recently moved into his new location on a fresh house on New Govardhana Farm.

The show was one of my most nervous shows. Even more than the first show we had in front of 800 people. I was in front of HH Makunda Goswami and my family. These were some of the very few people that had known me through all my stages of life. I could feel constant monitoring from their direction of every little move I made. I had been waiting the whole tour to show off “The Mind” to my family and had been excluding it from the diaries for the first part of the adventures just to keep it fresh for the performance for the New Govardhana crowd in the Gold Coast. Makunda Maharaja had even asked me before the show who I was in the play and I told him he would have to just see it.

After the show it was a rush on the book table. The devotees were getting in there and soaking up some more nectar. Gurukulis were getting stuck into it and buying up some literature preferring philosophy over stories. My little brother Bhisma appeared behind me with the youngsters from NG, including Goky and Gaura (who I hardly got to greet in all the commotion that subsided). Bish (Bhisma) was trying to give me a donation for the program. I forcefully thrust him a Krsna book and told him to march up to Indradyumna Swami and have him sign it. I knew he deserved the mercy and had more than payed for it.

After a bit I saw my mother talking with HH Indradumnya Swami. I marched over to hear what was going down. She thanked him for looking after her boy. He was a little confused who that was until I popped my head in. He then started to praise me in front of my mother telling her how I read 2 hours a day of Srila Prabhupada’s books (which was not true). I was shocked to hear this and signalled from behind his back to my mum that it wasn’t true. Either he was egging her on or someone had told him some miss information.

After this I returned to the book table. I was approached by HH Makunda Goswami we talked a bit about the show and how he was in New Govardhana. He slipped me his low down on the show as I insisted he go over to talk to Indradyumna Swami about it all. After he left to talk with Indradyumna Swami I had some words with his personal servant Madan Mohan Prabhu. He opted to help me out in India if I needed anything and I told him I would see him in Mayapur for Gaurapurnim.

I returned to the book table to talk to Gaura Hari. I questioned him why Indradyumna Swami was telling my mum I was reading 2 hours a day. “Oh yeah he asked me how much you read and I told him 2 hours” he said. The crowd lingered on late into the night. It was down to sat sanga with all the devotees yakking away as they typically did. I took off to see if I could get in the way of the pack up crew. Me and Sadhu were running all over the venue trying to touch each others feet.

After it was all said and done it was time to hit the road. I nearly took Sri P’s bag thinking he had left it behind, but really he hadn’t left yet. After Sri P recovered his valuables and the boys jumped in the chariot, we took off back to brissy. We found ourselves on the freeway with no fuel?! All of a sudden the petrol stations had all but vanished. I was taking random exits looking for ones that were still open at 11pm but was having no success. I spent about half an hour driving slowly next to the freeway on side roads watching my fuel meter drop dangerously low. After doing 50ks bellow empty (my car is supposed to last 40k bellow empty) we find a petrol station.

“Ice creams boys?” I said, trying to compensate for the epic journey. Just to dampen the spirit’s a little more I found that the petrol station was only selling fuel at this time of the night. This was the first petrol station I had ever seen doing this. I felt maybe this was some karma for trailing Domo around a couple nights before late with no fuel. Whatever it was, it was not cool because petrol stations should sell ice creams at 11pm. It is a sensible business concept. In the end we settled for sweet memories of the show and made our way back to Brisbane City. It was success for our second show on the Brisbane leg.

In the performance of a sacrifice, there are seven transcendental means to obtain the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead:. (1) by sacrificing valuable things or eatables,. (2) by acting in terms of place,. (3) by acting in terms of time,. (4) by offering hymns,. (5) by going through the priest,. (6) by offering gifts to the priests and. (7) by observing the regulative principles. However, one cannot always obtain the Supreme Lord through this paraphernalia. Nonetheless, the Lord is affectionate to His devotee; therefore when Mahârâja Nâbhi, who was a devotee, worshiped and offered prayers to the Lord with great faith and devotion and with a pure uncontaminated mind, superficially performing some yajña in the line of pravargya, the kind Supreme Personality of Godhead, due to His affection for His devotees, appeared before King Nâbhi in His unconquerable and captivating form with four hands. In this way, to fulfill the desire of His devotee, the Supreme Personality of Godhead manifested Himself in His beautiful body before His devotee. This body pleases the mind and eyes of the devotees.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 3 Verse 2

By Svavasa das

40 years ago this June, Srila Prabhupada personally installed the beautiful deities of Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarakanatha with his own hands. He would often teach his disciples the process of Deity worship, by lovingly worshiping these small Radha Krishna deities himself.

Simhachalam

Today is the most auspicious appearance day of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is Balarama, the brother of Lord Krishna who descended when Krishna appeared as Lord Caitanya to assist Lord Caitanya in His pastimes of delivering the fallen, conditioned souls of this world. He is most merciful upon those who are sinful, and bestows transcendental bliss...

The glass walls for five sides of the Prabhupada Pavilion have been installed. They are very impressive. Photos show them from different angles. We're looking forward to inaugurating the Pavilion as a Performing Arts Center on Shiva Ratri Day, February 21st.

Fridays are always interesting.  On Fridays, while many Torontonians lurch home from a tough week at work, looking forward to weekends filled with partying, sleeping and God knows what else, devotees have a special way of spiritualizing their weekends.  

On Saturday evening (6:00pm to 9:00pm), a very special festival will be taking place as we celebrate Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day! Lord Nityananda is considered identical with Balarama, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. He is regarded as being like the elder brother of Lord Chaitanya and always served Him in any way. With HH Bhaktimarga Swami in attendance, festivities will be highlighted with a "dramatic" display of Lord Nityananda's pastimes and qualities! It will surely be a festival not to be missed!

Meat-free menus are to be promoted in UK hospitals as part of a strategy to cut global warming emissions across the National Health Service. Read all about it...

1969 February 6: "Poet Tagore became very popular in the West by presenting his Gitanjali which is full of Vaisnava sentiments. We have immense literatures. These should all be presented to the Western world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1973 February 6: "This taking of sannyasa should not be an excuse for becoming irresponsible. Sannyasis have great responsibility to become fearless preachers of our Krsna Consciousness movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1969 February 6: "I have sent six boys and girls, neither elderly nor very conversant with Vedic philosophy but by their character, behavior, and devotion, they are attracting many people in London."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

I was listening to the following podcast:

Darrel Rhea: Marking During an Economic Meltdown

The title is deceptive. It is more about analyzing a market or activity holistically and reinventing it to taking into account the complete picture. With a complete view of all the factors, motivations, desires, side-effects and intentions, one can transform into a truly customer focused organization.

Darrel Rhea gives example how he helped do this for Apple Retail Stores, Electrolux Kitchen Appliances, the Australian Tax System and Hospital Stroke Treatment.

How about we think about the classic Sunday Feast in this way? In New Zealand the Sunday Feast has already been adapted and reinvented to a certain extent to make it more accessible to newcomers, but without changing any of the core values of Krishna Consciousness. But more can always be done to improve it even further.

(Learn more about the “Krishna Fest” as it is in Wellington, New Zealand: Gaura Yoga - Festivals)

Think of the usual kind of person that might attend a Krishna Conscious center: curious, wary, ignorant of any kind of philosophy, averse to ritual, averse to religion, proud, attached to the opposite sex, not able to sit on the floor for long periods of time, short attention span, self-conscious (unless intoxicated), concerned about spending too much money and concerned about the environment (although not actually doing much about it).

So, using that picture of the typical guest, how would you reinvent the Sunday Feast with a fresh outlook, unencumbered by past traditions? Things that might be changed: name, time, music, types of events, sequence of events, physical layout of the room(s), decoration of the room(s), devotee numbers, devotee dress & accessories and devotee language & attitude.

Please leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.

Hrimati dasi: From our humble beginnings when we lived and operated out of a bamboo hut with a single cow in a small barn next to it, we have now expanded for the sake of Gopal Soft Toys production and our cows.

Rohini devi dasi: For now, I offer mouth watering burfies made with local, creamy organic milk, and several varieties of cookies, and I am hoping to expand the repertoire in the near future.

Kasisvar das: Tribhuvanesh Das is well-known for his melodious tunes of Hare Krishna maha-mantra, which became famous as a part of The Laksmi Nrisimha Travelling Sankirtan Tour of HH Indradyumna Swami.

By Rasananda das

The mangala arotik prayer selected by the Acarya of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada is Sri Gurvastakam - Eight Prayers glorifying the Spiritual Master by Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakur.

The roaring kirtana, offering feast to the Deities with special preparations is our simple mode of celebration, and there is no special other program, this is standard, and that is our festival.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Yamuna -- Los Angeles 17 May, 1970

Received this letter from DM who attended both my classes at Sticky Rice Cooking School last week.

"Dear Kurma, Thank you for the wonderful whole experience and taste sensation of sumptuous, exquisite Indian feasting.

My taste buds are awakened, my being is clearer. You asked me which day I preferred. The first day! On the first day I ate of the food of God's table, food as I had never before tasted. At the same time I knew I am eating God, as the Creator and giver of the food.

I believe the food to be enhanced by the participation and balance of energies between the males and females. Hence, there was more creativity, fire, co-creating and intention by all in this divine food.

My pathway through life is now enhanced with pure vegetarian spice infused, healthy food. I am presently designing my first sustainable home with 3 acres of native flora and fauna, and organic fruit and veg. Blessings, DM."

Mukunda Datta das singing a Hare Krishna bhajan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 19 - 12 hr Bhajans - Mukunda Datta das - Hare Krishna.mp3

The following letter was published on facebook as a note by "Hrdayananda DasGoswami". That facebook user has recently been created and as yet it is unverified that it is *the* Hrdayananda Goswami irl (irl= in real life).

A recent article on Chakra.org reported that H.H. Hrdayananda Goswami blessed a gay male couple who then performed a marriage ceremony of some description.

That report prompted a number of responses, most notably Krishna-kirti's published on Sampradaya Sun.

The following letter is interesting, and if it's not from Maharaja it's a good "fake Hrdayananda".

Letter From Hridayananda Maharaja
by Hridayananda das Goswami

Posted February 6, 2009 [via facebook]

Dear Devotees,

Jaya Srila Prabhupada. A letter of blessings that I sent to a gay couple has caused an extraordinary amount of controversy, and so I am writing here to clarify my understanding of this issue, and the intention of my letter.

In the Bhagavad-gita 17.15, Lord Krishna states that "Austerity of speech consists in speaking words that are truthful, pleasing, beneficial, and not agitating to others..."

I have clearly failed to some extent in this duty as prescribed by Lord Krishna, given the bitter and insulting nature of some responses. I sincerely apologize to the devotees for this evident failure.

I have been accused of harboring thinly veiled political motives, or of seeking to impose upon ISKCON a new and de facto social reality regarding homosexual relations. To the devotees, even to the incredulous, I state here that none of this was my intention. In my letter, as I will later explain in detail, I sought, and apparently failed, to strike a balance that would not convulse ISKCON. The great agitation produced by my letter shows that I failed in my intent, for which I again apologize.

I am keenly aware that I do not have the right within ISKCON to unilaterally establish policy on this matter, and my intention was not to preempt, nor to pressure or coerce, a GBC decision on the issue.

Ironically, my own views on homosexuality are seen by the world in general as rather conservative and indeed those views often disappoint gay rights activists. As stated in an earlier paper I wrote on this topic:

1. I do not advocate, nor perform, gay marriage. I accept the view of Srila Prabhupada, (and, by the way, of the well-known gay musician, Elton John) that marriage historically has been, and should remain, a heterosexual institution.

2. Although science proves that a segment of the population is born with a homosexual orientation, and although homosexuality is thus natural for that group, I do not believe that what is natural for an individual or a group of individuals, is necessarily natural for society. Therefore I seek a balance that respects the genetically, unavoidably homosexual nature of an individual, as well as the natural right of society as a whole to privilege heterosexuality as its social norm.

In my letter, which was addressed to educated non-devotees, I began by saying:

"Our love for each other is a reflection of God's love for us. Thus, the perfection of every relationship is to see God in each other."

Since Krishna's love for us is pure, I believed that serious devotees would understand, from the beginning of my statement, that I was speaking of spiritual love, rather than mundane, bodily lust. I believed they would see that I was encouraging the persons involved to see Krishna within each other, and thus fully transcend the bodily concept of life. I then stated:

"May God bless [these] devoted souls, as they commit themselves to each other in the spirit of God's love for them. May [they] always please God through true love for each other."

Clearly we please Krishna by renouncing all sinful activities and selfish desires, and I made this very clear to both parties in private conversations. In other words I offered blessings not for their sense gratification, but for the exact opposite: the giving up of any activity not pleasing to Krishna. I referred to them as "devoted souls" because I do not believe that a person genetically wired for homosexuality is necessarily "bestial" or "demonic" as some apparently feel.

Irrefutable history shows us that many sincere souls born with a homosexual orientation have struggled sincerely to serve Srila Prabhupada's mission, and to awaken their dormant love for Krishna, despite an often heavy private and social burden. I cannot see such souls, as some apparently do, as disgusting freaks, willfully and obscenely offending God and nature by their genetic makeup. I am well aware of Srila Prabhupada's statements on this matter and I am confident that a mature, thorough knowledge of Prabhupada's preaching content and style makes possible a more moderate interpretation of those statements. I feel that I am well prepared to logically defend this view though I will not belabor it here.

I also do not go to the other extreme of denying that homosexuality, in some ways, is problematic within a spiritual society. The special burden of devotees born with this condition can only be fully eliminated by their own spiritual enlightenment.

In the last paragraph of my letter, I said: "By such true spiritual love, may they always be, each for the other, a source of spiritual inspiration and happiness. May their relationship lead them, patiently and steadily, back to our real home in the spiritual world, where all relationships become eternal and perfect."

I believed that devotees would recognize the language of true spiritual love as referring to pure Krishna consciousness, far beyond the bodily concept of life, far above any form of sexuality. And clearly a relationship that leads people back to the spiritual world must be a relationship which, through genuine devotion and sacrifice, has become fully pleasing to Krishna.

Not a word in my letter addresses current social or political issues related to homosexuality. Not a word in my letter claims a legal status for homosexual couples, be it marriage or civil union. As a Vaishnava teacher, not as a political operative, nor as a renegade policy maker, I prayed to Krishna that He guide two sincere souls to His lotus feet.

That I expressed this sincere wish in a manner that was not sufficiently sensitive to the concerns of other sincere Vaishnavas, I admit. I truly regret this failing on my part. However, that I acted with political motives, I vehemently deny.

Let us take this situation as an opportunity to earnestly discuss how we may best preserve our sacred principles: both our moral rigor as well as our deep compassion.

With best wishes,
Your servant,
Hridayananda das Goswami

1971 February 6 : "If we can get some Chinese followers it will be a great success. I know amongst them there are many scholars and learned cultured gentlemen. I shall be glad to go there whenever you will call me."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1966 February 6
"Cohen with Salak and other two ladies attended today's meeting. I took meals at Dr. Mishra's apartment. President Case replied to his letter. There was no expenditure."
Journal :: 1966

Seeing the bumblebees following Pûrvacitti, Mahârâja Âgnîdhra said: My dear Lord, the bumblebees surrounding your body are like disciples surrounding your worshipable self. They are incessantly chanting the mantras of the Sâma Veda and the Upanishads, thus offering prayers to you. Just as great sages resort to the branches of Vedic literatures, the bumblebees are enjoying the showers of flowers falling from your hair.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 2 Verse 9

1975 February 6: "Every volume of Srimad-Bhagavatam as well as Caitanya Caritamrta must be fully complete with an index, list of references, glossary, Sanskrit pronunciation guide, and index of Sanskrit verses. This will be best."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 February 6: "Thank you for distributing my books everyday. This is a nice program for the press workers to increase enthusiasm. I will be glad to see all 15 of you in Mayapur for our festival."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1973 February 6: "This taking of sannyasa should not be an excuse for becoming irresponsible. Sannyasis have great responsibility to become fearless preachers of our Krsna Consciousness movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1969 February 6: "Poet Tagore became very popular in the West by presenting his Gitanjali which is full of Vaisnava sentiments. We have immense literatures. These should all be presented to the Western world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 February 6: "I have sent six boys and girls, neither elderly nor very conversant with Vedic philosophy but by their character, behavior, and devotion, they are attracting many people in London."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Great treat for the devotees worldwide that will not attend the Mayapur Festival: Live broadcast in real time of all of its most important events!

“Sri Nityananda Prabhu’s face is more beautiful and cooling than the autumnal moon. The effulgence coming out from His body is supremely beautiful. He always moves like a mad elephant, since He is always intoxicated with krsna-prema (love of God). He is always mad after krsna-prema. His body is completely pure spiritual energy. He always has a smiling face. His eyes are very fickle, moving to and fro. His lotus hand always holds a glowing staff. Yes, that is Sri Nityananda, who by the beating of that staff, destroys all our reactions of Kali-yuga. We should take shelter of Sri Nityananda and cry for the mercy of Sri Nityananda! He is the root of krsna-prema bhakti-kalpa-taru, the root of the tree of loving devotion unto Krsna. I do my bhajana of Lord Nityananda, the very root of the krsna-bhakti-vrksa.”

read more

And the beat goes on...

One of many examples of media intolerance is four separate newspapers publishing an identical article attacking the Jehovah's Witnesses. One of the newspapers credited the article to a named former Jehovah's Witness, one credited a different author, and two of the newspapers credited KNB secret police offices in different Kazakh regions.

Prague, Taichi akademie

================================================================== Thought for the Day--Friday 6 February 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...

Recently I’ve went through pretty much hell employment wise.  I’ve mananged to acquire and quit two jobs within two months. The root of all the problems stems from my lacking the vaisya mentality being more in sudra mode and thus being taken advantage of by employers who can perceive my ignorance and naivety in this [...]

Sarva Mangala Ma would like pass on news of the summer specials in Radha-Ballabha's shop.

She has discounted ladies cotton kurtis by 50%.

The shop has many varieties of pre-loved demigod murtis at many very special prices.

Ayuvedic medicine has just arrived: Triphala, the best ever cleanser for the body.

A new shipment of Chyawanprash is available: the best quality in town with no sugar.

This Friday evening, February 6th, the Hare Krishna Temple will be celebrating the appearance of Lord Varahadeva, the boar incarnation of Krishna. Srimad Bhagavatam describes the wonderful pastime when Lord Krishna once assumed the form of a splendid, gigantic boar (Varaha) and dove to the bottom of the universal ocean to gently lift up Mother Earth on His tusks to the surface.

The schedule for the evening's program is:
6:00pm to 6:30pm - Arati
6:30pm to 6:40pm - Welcome & Announcements
6:40pm to 7:05pm - Class - HG Rupanuga das
7:05pm to 7:20pm - Offerings to Lord Varahadeva
7:20pm to 8:00pm - Prasadam
8:00pm to 8:30pm - Arati

Join us as we celebrate this wonderful pastime of Lord Varahadeva, the boar incarnation of Krishna!

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.5.51 - Transcendental rasa with Krsna begins when we develop an attitude of astonishment or reverence towards Him.

It's said that if you want to truly understand someone that you should "walk a mile in their shoes." This is especially helpful if you want to improve relationships. So, I decided to apply this saying to figure out how I could improve my relationship with Krsna.

The first thing I noticed is that I am either doing one of two things: I either spend most of my time complaining or lamenting to Krsna about things I don't have or things that happened in the past, or else I spend my time informing him about my "desire list." Then something powerful really struck me. Would I always want to be around someone who was constantly complaining or requesting things from me? The answer is a RESOUNDING NO! That person would be such a drag and then I realized, "Oh oh! That person that I wouldn't want to be around is the exact person that Krsna has to deal with constantly (me)!" :( Poor Krsna!

This ties back into a point that I had briefly mentioned yesterday about living either in the past or in the future. When I analyze my tendencies, I notice that I tend to lament about the past and hanker about the future. This type of meditation results in me forgetting about the present and actually results in a very dis-empowering pattern. See the thing is, I have no power to change the past and although I can plan and desire for things in the future, the future is still yet to come. Instead if I can find a way to focus on the present, that is the place where I can be the most empowered. Actually BEING in the present allows me to see what is in front of me and thus work with those circumstances instead of dreaming of what is "the most ideal."

Unfortunately this is the conditioned state of the soul. The living entity is constantly flickering between lamentation and desiring and because of that is never satisfied. In fact, when it comes to material desires, those very things we desire later on become the objects of our lamentation and then what do we do? Why desire to get rid of those very things that we wanted in the first place! It's such a vicious cycle!

But how can one live in the present? By developing gratitude, consciously developing a positive attitude and learning to change what are oftentimes a very narrow minded perspective. If we become thankful for whatever circumstances and situations we are placed in, that allows us to look for the good. There are positives in any situation, they just might be really well hidden! By unearthing those positives, this sheds new light and helps us to change our perspective. Instead we can see how we can use the situation to turn to Krsna more and also practically come up with ways to use the situation to our advantage.

So, despite all the complaints and requests, I need to start adding a lot more thanks when I pray to Krsna. No time like the present to begin. I'd like to end by saying, "Thank you Krsna for giving me the realization that you are always arranging whatever is best for me."

Currently most of ISKCON has an unspoken "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in relation to gays. Yes, there are gay sannyasis and other members either in official organisational positions or just participating. However, they are not allowed to come out about being gay, because this causes a disturbance by challenging fundamental socio-philosophical assumptions - witness the event reported by Giridhari das.

The default "conservative" position in ISKCON is that to "be gay" is to violate a normative standard of the organization. You don't have to "do" anything more than say "I'm gay", and you've "broken the regulative principles".

Thus, persons who are gay are welcome to participate in ISKCON as long as they remain silent about their identity and do not challenge the assertion that gayness is a behaviour, a choice, or perhaps a sickness, rather than a (temporary) identity on par with others.

Dr. Peter Singer, Senior Fellow and Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution [website], is a speaker at this year's TED conference, currently on in California. He has written a Foreign Policy paper for the Brookings Institute entitled "How the Real World ended Don't Ask Don't Tell". Interesting reading.

A military/gay mashup right at this point in time? Krishna must be God...

The ISKCON Toronto Blog is happy to present Episode Three of Cooking for Krishna. Cooking for Krishna is a regular video series which shows how to create sumptuous vegetarian items! Once made, these preparations are lovingly offered to Lord Krishna and become "prasadam", or sanctified food!

In this third episode, Rasa Krida devi dasi, a local devotee who recently returned to Toronto after being in the UK for five years, shows us how to make mouth-watering vegan brownies!

We hope you enjoy our third episode of Cooking for Krishna. Feel free to share your comments with your thoughts, feedback and suggestions for this episode! You can also re-visit Episodes 1 and 2 of Cooking for Krishna where we made Winter Soup and Spring Rolls respectively. Hare Krishna!

As a new feature, you can also download this recipe as a PDF for your convenience!

1966 February 5: "The Tape record of my kirtan practically charmed the auduence. Now I am confident the transcendental sound of Harinama can do good even to the birds and the beasts."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1969 February 5: "Feelings of love are reciprocal, especially on the spiritual platform. I know what is your feelings about me, and in the same way I am always dependent on your kind affection."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1975 February 5: "You want to make apologies. This policy is not at all good. Our policy should be to protest against this persecution."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Bhakti Sastri studies in The Nectar of Devotion will resume at 7pm. next Thursday evening - February the 12th.


Classes - in the temple theatre room - will also be held each Sunday at 10:30am. The teachers are Aniruddha Prabhu and Gangesvara Prabhu. Everyone is welcome to attend.

By Dravida Dasa

This year, as always, we request you to submit your homages to Srila Prabhupada for his Vyasa Puja book by April 15. PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF E-MAIL ADDRESS.

Bhakta Piyush: If anyone is interested to memorize Bhagavad Gita verses, live, over the internet along with H.H. Danavir Goswami Maharaj, they can do so by visiting the following site...

The other week I got asked an interesting question although it was somewhat surprising, “does your Guru Maharaja know you had HH Mahavishnu Swami stay at your house?” I am wondering if I have broken some form of etiquette here; I am also reminded that during his stay the local centre said they could not even [...]

The devotees accept the Supreme Lord as the most dear personality and reciprocate with Him in different relationships. They accept the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the dearmost friend, the dearmost relative, the dearmost son, the dearmost preceptor, the dearmost well-wisher or the dearmost Deity. The Lord is eternal; therefore any relationship in which we accept Him is also eternal. It is clearly confirmed herein that the relationships cannot be destroyed, and therefore the opulences of those relationships are never destroyed. Every living entity has the propensity to love someone. We can see that if someone has no object of love, he generally directs his love to a pet animal like a cat or a dog. Thus the eternal propensity for love in all living entities is always searching for a place to reside. From this verse we can learn that we can love the Supreme Personality of Godhead as our dearmost object -- as a friend, as a son, as a preceptor or as a well-wisher -- and there will be no cheating and no end to such love. We shall eternally enjoy the relationship with the Supreme Lord in different aspects.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 3.25.38

The title I gave was "A Reply to Ritvikism." The meaning is quite different to that you have given.

(In my location 7 Feb 2009 is Varaha Dvadasi: Appearance of Lord Varahadeva, as well as Nityananda Trayodasi)

As we learn from the Puranas, several incarnations of Lord Visnu appear more than once, at different times and under different circumstances. It is known, for example, that Matsya, the greatest of fish, appeared once at the end of a cycle of yugas to save the Vedas during the devastating flood of the universe and appeared once more, during a partial flood of the lower part of the universe, to show His mercy to Satyavrata Muni. There are also two Lord Kürmas. One held Mandara Mountain on His back while nectar was being churned from the Milk Ocean, and the other always holds up the earth. Similarly, there are at least five Lord Varahas. The first appeared from Brahma's nostril at the beginning of creation, lifted the earth, deposited her on the Garbha Ocean, and then disappeared. The second saved the earth from a partial flood of devastation, killed Hiranyaksa, and went to Svargaloka. The third, the embodiment of Vedic sacrifice, taught the methods of sacrifice, lifted the earth, spoke to her the Varaha Purana, and disappeared by His mystic power. The fourth took the earth and made her even by grinding down the excessively large mountains with His sharp tusks. The earth then assumed the form of His consort Varahi, enjoyed with Him, and gave birth to two sons. That Lord Varaha finally disappeared by merging into the form of Lord Nrsimha. And yet a fifth Varahadeva perpetually holds up the earth from below. Lord Nrsimha also made several different appearances, as we know from such sources as the Brhat-sahasra-nama-stotra. One Nrsimha defeated all the celestial mothers, another ripped apart Hiranyakasipu, and yet another assumed the form of an ordinary cat. There were also two appearances of Vamanadeva to trick two different asuras, Dhundhu and Bali, and there were two appearances each of Lord Hayagriva and Lord Hamsa.

Brhad-Bhagavatamrta 2.4.157 ppt. By Srila Sanatana Goswami Prabhupada English rendering by Sri Gopiparanadhana Prabhu

Another 'ancient' piece of wisdom, found in the treasure trove of IC Journal Online. With the debate about homosexuals in and around ISKCON heating up, Braja Bihari Prabhu's essay from 2005 gives sound advice:

---

by Braja Bihari das

Drawing on his experience in conflict resolution in ISKCON, Braja Bihari Prabhu examines one of the core factors of conflict—the division between 'conservative' and 'liberal' positions on the understanding and application of a shared set of teachings.

He uses several models for understanding such conflict and from these he draws solutions that aim to enable conflict to be resolved, where appropriate, or to be acknowledged for their potential to form the basis of healthy, productive dialogue.

read more

I stumbled on these postings on youtube it’s very inspirational, comes in five parts so you need a bit of time set aside to watch the life of Sivarama Swami Ow also a majority of it is not in English but their is lovely subtitiles so don’t let that put you off Watch and enjoy

Vimul singing a Hare Krishna bhajan.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 18 - 12 hr Bhajans - Vimul - Hare Krishna.mp3

1968 February 5 : "Use your time in the prison house for spiritual advancement. Haridasa Thakura was taken to jail and he told the prisoners, 'Oh, you are so fortunate to have this opportunity to sit and chant without the maya distractions.'"
Letters :: 1968

1970 February 5 : "In 1961 I was your guest in the Gita Bagicha. You were very kind to help me partially for publishing my first volume of Srimad Bhagavatam. With great difficulty, I then published the second and third volumes until 1965, when I prepared myself to come to this country with some books."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 February 5 : "If, as you say, you are only preaching among the Indians there, then I think the people of Trinidad may not be taking up this philosophy very seriously."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 February 5: "After taking into consideration all of the points I prefer his plan the most. Now immediately begin construction and make this one of the great temples of the south."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 February 5: "I accept the plan submitted by you. Krsna is Bhavagrahi Janardana. He has many Temples big and small and his own abode in the Spiritual Sky. So all our plans are under the jurisdiction of Bhavagrahi."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 February 5: "You want to make apologies. This policy is not at all good. Our policy should be to protest against this persecution."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1969 February 5: "Feelings of love are reciprocal, especially on the spiritual platform. I know what is your feelings about me, and in the same way I am always dependent on your kind affection."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1966 February 5: "The Tape record of my kirtan practically charmed the auduence. Now I am confident the transcendental sound of Harinama can do good even to the birds and the beasts."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

Touch of the Brajabasi: Prologue

***

In the golden morning, I sat in a wooden chair amidst the rooftop maze of the brahmacari asram in Chowpatty, facing Radhanath Swami’s room. I basked in the quiet. I reveled in the feeling of waiting to see my spiritual master.

Maharaj emerged in his saffron robes from around a maze corner and smiled to see me. “Ah yes, please come in,” he said.

“Maharaj, I just came to give you this letter. That’s all.” I said.

He gestured to the floor, “Please, sit, Bhakti,” he said, and he settled to the bamboo mats.

“O-okay,” I said, and sat across from him. The walls were covered in beautiful terra cotta swathes of cow dung. Pictures of the seven deities of Vrindavan hung on the wall.

“Maharaj, I am leaving for Vrindavan tomorrow. It will be my first time in the holy dham,”

“Really?” he said.

“Yes. Please, I ask for your blessings to appreciate the holy dham. What are your thoughts?”

He contemplated for long moments. He then spoke with soft deliberation, “Seek out those who are living pure lives. You can socialize anywhere in the world, but Vrindavan is special, it is the holy dham. Seek out the association of the Vaishnavas who inspire you and will guide you.”

“I shall,” I said softly.

As I lived in Vrindavan for the next month and a half, his words echoed within me. For the first full month, I struggled daily to appreciate the holy dham – the streets, the temples, and most of all the people. I just didn’t connect with anything. My mind mostly raged with grievances of the pollution and the poverty, and doubts if this land was holy at all. I saw temples as businesses, every street as a ghetto, every beggar an exploiter of charity. 

I had come during the holiest – and thus the busiest – month of the year, Kartik. When it ended, and Vrindavan slowed to its usual pace of a busy village, I began to see things I had never seen before.

I saw how hard my heart truly was.

Brajabasi means a ‘resident of Vrindavan (Braja)’. Somehow, the Brajabasis who lived pure lives reached out to touch me, they inspired me, and they guided me. They touched my heart in some deep way, softened it, changed it somehow. I’m still trying to understand.

The following three stories are my brushes of fate with the residents of Braja.  

You can check out some photos that Donna (I think, or Megan) took at the recent retreat.

31 photos in total, over on Flickr.

Friends of Vrindavan: Friends of Vrindavan has organized a three days basket making training programme from the used plastic carry bags to find livelihood for the poor women.

Ravi: Brahma Kund, or Brahm Teerth, located near the northern gate of the famous Rangji Temple in Vrindavan is mentioned in the Varaha Purana.

By Vaisnavis

We hope this compilation will preserve for posterity Srila Prabhupada’s legacy of exchanges with his women disciples and will illumine still more facets of his glories – how his reciprocation with them endeared his women disciples to him and gave them life-long inspiration and guidance.

Lee Wei Ling: The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute and Lee Kuan Yew's daughter (Lee Kuan Yew is the former Prime Minister of Singapore)

When it rains, it pours! After our annual Srila Prabhupada Festival on January 1st, the calendar seemed to show that we'd have to wait a few weeks before reaching in our bag of "festival-goodies" to celebrate in grand "Toronto Hare Krishna" fashion!

Well the weeks have flown by and this upcoming weekend marks some very special festivals!

This Friday evening, February 6th (6:00pm to 8:30pm), the Hare Krishna Temple will be celebrating the Appearance of the Boar Incarnation of Krishna (Lord Varahadeva). As described in the Srimad Bhagavatam, Lord Krishna once assumed the form of a splendid, gigantic boar (Varaha), dove to the bottom of the universal ocean, picked up Earth who had fallen from her orbit as a result of demonic persons, and gently carried her on His tusks to the water’s surface (learn more). Festivities will include a enthralling glimpse into this wonderful pastime of Krishna!

On Saturday morning, February 7th (4:30am to 8:30am), the Pandava Sena is inviting one and all (particularly youth) to attend the temple's daily morning program which begins at 4:30am! (more information)

On Saturday evening (6:00pm to 9:00pm), a very special festival will be taking place as we celebrate Lord Nityananda's Appearance Day! Lord Nityananda is considered identical with Balarama, the elder brother of Lord Krishna. He is regarded as being like the elder brother of Lord Chaitanya and always served Him in any way (learn more). With HH Bhaktimarga Swami in attendance, festivities will be highlighted with a "dramatic" display of Lord Nityananda's pastimes and qualities! It will surely be a festival not to be missed!

Of course, on Sunday February 8th (6:00pm to 8:30pm), we will host our weekly Sunday Feast program with the usual wonderful kirtan, the amazing vegetarian feast (prasadam) and an enlightening class!

So come spend your weekend with Toronto's Hare Krishna temple and we promise you will start next week on a spiritually heightened note!

by the The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III

The King thus began criticizing himself: Alas, how condemned I have become because of my sense gratification! I have now fallen into material enjoyment, which is exactly like a covered well. I have had enough! I am not going to enjoy any more. Just see how I have become like a dancing monkey in the hands of my wife. Because of this, I am condemned.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 1 Verse 37

Simhachalam