Recently on Skype Japa we discussed the importance of making our Japa the No.1 priority in our lives...it's easy to see how Japa is the cornerstone of our spiritual life and has a flow on effect into the rest of our sadhana and the rest of our day. Like a building has a cornerstone that supports the rest of the structure...so too Japa is the cornerstone of our spiritual life that supports the other areas or sadhana etc. If the cornerstone is strong, the rest is strong. Here is a nice quote to illustrate the importance of making Japa a priority:

1972 February 12 : "He's a sinful man, I know him, at least sinful according to our four principles. He has been lecturing for 20 years, still his asrama stands vacant. Unless one's life is made up, what this lecturing will do?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1968 February 12 : "It was all risky, and I was alone, but I took it depending on Krishna. So if you take the risk for Krishna's sake, Krishna will supply you the required money undoubtedly."
Letters :: 1968

1970 February 12 : "This is the real course of study. I am so happy that you have introduced our classes in the two Universities. Conduct these courses diligently and influence the hearts of the students."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 February 12 : "So your activities are now supposed to be on the pure spiritual platform and by continuation of this process you will increase your spiritual blissful strength and influence those who come in your contact."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 February 12 : "Where is the question of not serving with devotion? Despite all difficulties we can chant, so long we have got the tongue - and even we have got no tongue - we can chant in our mind."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 12: "Do not think because you are sometimes sick or weak that you are not making any advancement. Simply if you are able always to chant Hare Krishna, that is the same as following all other regulative principles."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1968 February 12: "Krishna helps one to find bona fide Spiritual Master, and bona fide Spiritual Master helps one to understand Krishna. If one does not get bona fide Spiritual Master, then how he can ever understand Krishna?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 12: "They want to be cheated, and Krishna sends them a cheater. You can test any follower in their knowledge of Bhagavad-gita, you will find it is nil."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

Ecstatic kirtan by my Guru Maharaja.

His inspiring association, kind words, ceaseless compassion and unlimited mercy have altered the course of my life. I pray that I may always have the shelter of his lotus feet.

nama-srestham manum api saci-putram atra svarupam
rupam tasyagrajam uru-purim mathurim gostavatim
radha-kundam giri-varam aho radhika-madhavasam
prapto yasya prathita-krpaya sri gurum tam nato 'smi

I offer my respectful obeisances to my spiritual master for by his mercy I have the hope of obtaining the best of all things, the holy name. By his mercy I have hope of obtaining the shelter of Sri Caitanya the son of Mother Saci and all of his intimate associates Srila Swarupa Damodar Goswami, Srila Rupa Goswami and his elder brother Srila Sanatana Goswami. By his mercy I have the hope of obtaining Mathura Mandala which contains the sacred forest of Vrindaban, and Radhkunda and Govardhan the best of the mountains. And by his mercy I have hope that some day I will attain the service of Shri Shri Radhika-Madhava.

A community hall for the resident devotees in Mayapur was inaugurated in a colorful function on 11th Feb.09. HH Radhanath Swami, HH Umapati Swami, HH Bhakti Raghava Swami, HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami, HG Visuddha sattva prabhu participated in the inaugural ceremony and blessed the activities of Mayapur Community Sevaks. Maharajas danced to the ecstatic kirtan by Harinam devotees. A drama was enacted by community children. Srila Prabhupada was concerned about community development.

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See Them Eat is back!  Thanks to a submission from Soma Prabhu.

A new year always comes with new and exciting things. As devotees we are always patiently waiting to see what new things Krishna has in store for us. It is said that “change provides us with clues that the universe is holding a vision much grander than we could ever imagine.”

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Wife and husband should be seen more like spiritual friends or more like "spiritual lovers"? What is the difference between the two?

If the spiritual is authentic both definitions are synonymous. But only if it's authentically spiritual, because today it is a fashion to say spiritual: "Oh, today I got to know a very spiritual person."but often people don't know anything about the dimension of the spirit. I remember, years ago, I had so much discussion on this with one person. I had to rebuke and correct him so many times. Slowly, slowly, he stopped. He had friends—some poets—that he considered spiritual but who were actually conditioned by everything: by tobacco, by alcohol, by scurrilous language; they were very conditioned. What a distorted idea of spiritual! I have explained and re-explained to him the definition of spiritual—five, seven, ten times—and it seems that lately he has grasped it. But the idea of spiritual is generally very vague, therefore it’s better to further clarify.

Let's analyze the category that indirectly emerges from your question: if the two, instead of being spiritual lovers, are carnal lovers. Then they are known as grihamedhis, which is different from grihasthas. The distinction is that for the grihasthas the fundamental goal is spiritual realization, while for the grihamedhis the aim is to get a beautiful wife or a handsome husband and enjoy each other. (Of course we know that it's only an attempt and than there is the other side of the coin.) These are the two categories. We have to make this essential distinction: does the person want to get married to increase his or her own potentialities of enjoyment, or does the person—in this case a sincere spiritualist—choose another sincere spiritualist in the form of the other gender to have a companion for the journey of spiritual realization?

Therefore we have two categories: those who pair for enjoying life better and those who unite for reciprocal help in self-realization. We exclusively deal with the second category; the first category is dealt with by sexologists, psychologists and other researchers. We are concerned only with those who try to have a family as a suitable, propaedeutical instrument for spiritual realization. The single man and the single woman may think, "By myself I can't make it."They may think that they are not yet ready to live as brahmacari or brahmacarini. Therefore they look for a person with whom to walk a section of the path together, understanding from the beginning that the aim is to help each other to obtain liberation, to obtain love of God.

In this category—the grihasthas—there could be some short-circuits at times, because the body is there, the senses are there, and the karma is there. Therefore by being close sometimes they find themselves too close, and at times there might be exchanges of affection surpassing the level allowed in the sastras. I would say that this is not a tragedy. Some people have made a tragedy of it but then they themselves created tragedies many times greater than this. Probably I won't be acclaimed for saying what I am saying but, in all conscience, I am taking full responsibility and I have solid arguments to support my theses.

Going Beyond the Conditioning of Modern Culture

The information of the media—which the mass misinterpret as progress and emancipation—doesn't stimulate at all a 'positive' process of liberation and emancipation of the human being, but an indiscriminate consumption, which only profits the great financial and industrial groups. The disposition of modern man is to be lenient, to be accommodating with the weak side of his character, to let one's own bio-psychic impulses and the external influences dominate his personality. Even if superficially he appears original, spontaneous and self-assured, in reality he is an off-centered and fragile individual, because of being hetero-directed.

Control doesn't mean repression or suppression. Repression involves an irrational fear (taboo) that impedes the elaboration of psychic energies, which are mostly unconscious. Rather, reasonable control consists in governing the energetic manifestation, with the objective of utilizing those same energies for a constructive goal. Among the innumerable examples I could make I limit myself to the case under exam: the transformation of the sexual push into a satisfactory rapport of love, process that for years I have defined from Eros to Love.

In other words, through using a well-trained willpower¹, it's possible to control the bio-psychic energy through reason (Logos). This control is the opposite of repressing or suppressing one’s impulses, as it can produce the transformation of the egoistic-destructive pushes in ecologic energy, beneficial to the individual, the collectivity and the environment. This process is defined transformation and sublimation.

The same principle applies to inhibition. The modern psychological literature—especially the one of Freudian school—has incorrectly attributed a negative connotation to the vital psychic function of inhibition. Evidence of the erroneousness of such idea is provided by scientific research in physiology, which has amply demonstrated that inhibition is a normal neurological function to better govern the organism. On the psychic plane also, to inhibit doesn't necessarily mean to suppress, but to apply a temporary brake to a reaction of the conditioned consciousness, in order to reflect on one’s behavior. To reflect means to activate the intellect, the buddhi, and to deliberate with emotional detachment on the present event without being overwhelmed by one’s urges. Inhibition is pathologic when used stubbornly, non-critically, but it is therapeutic when propaedeutic to sublimation (Bg. II-58: One who is able to withdraw his senses from sense objects, as the tortoise draws his limbs within the shell, is to be understood as truly situated in knowledge)

A person who lives the traditional values (sacrifice, work, saving, honesty, family, religion, etc.) doesn’t maximize commercial profit. To obtain maximum profit financial companies need to transform man in avid consumer, because to realize profit they need people to buy their products. Maximum profit for capital invested is given by a person who works to the maximum of his psychophysical capacity and consumes to the maximum of his financial capacity. The worker who is content leading his social or family relationships based on religious values and behavior is a bad consumer. He yields little, because to realize oneself in that way costs little or nothing and consequently doesn't push the individual to work to the maximum of his capacities. Similarly, the chaste girl who doesn't go out at night to have fun, the faithful wife who stays at home, the monk and the priest produce very little commercial profit. There arises therefore the need to create the consumerist, who seeks pleasure and entertainment, who seeks an individualistic, materialistic actualization and who frees himself from all the factors that could have inhibited such evolution, spending in goods and services whose sale produces profit. Modern culture achieved this by demolishing those ethical and social values—or motivational vectors—that checked the establishment of consumerism. Modern culture promoted liberation from duties, sexual liberation, blameworthiness of prohibitions, devaluation of the family and of family roles, emptying of religion, relativization of ethics and of authority. It created innumerable new personal fancied wants—essentially responding to the need of the industry to sell and gain: divorce, fashion, designer clothes and accessories, hankering for status symbols of every type, from classy cars to vacations in particular places.

 Rigid versus Rigorous

Many times, listening to his tapes and reading his books, I heard Srila Prabhupada say that illicit sex is illicit sex. Very true, but I have heard him thundering against extra-conjugal illicit sex and have heard him being understanding, compassionate—not approving, not accomplice—towards those who, out of weakness, break the principles in family life. Pay attention to this point: I don't approve the breaking of principles and I am not accomplice of those who break them, even within family life. But I am ready to be quite tolerant, ready to provide help to overcome these weaknesses—without an air of catastrophe, without excessive criminalization—because those instincts, if negated or brutally repressed, slide into the unconscious and create much more damage than when they are dissolved in the sunlight. One can't avoid taking them in consideration. Either accepting such instincts or rejecting them should be done consciously, with awareness. One should use all one's resources to sublimate these instincts to a higher level, the spiritual one. And even if one succeeds nine times out of ten but the tenth time bangs his head, he should try again till perfection.

There are spirit souls who are more reawakened and those who are less reawakened; those who have more success and those who have less success, but the important thing is not to embark in disasters. I believe that in the past many tragedies occurred due to interpreting things, although in good faith, in a rigid manner instead of in a rigorous manner. There is great difference between these two concepts. What is rigid is unfortunately also very fragile. What is rigorous is much better. Rigid has a negative connotation while rigorous has a positive one. A rigid, crude, hard, radical negation—which, I repeat, could be in good faith—means repression, but if these impulses don't act on the conscious level they act, and even more powerfully, on the unconscious level. In a moment of distraction or in a moment in which our perception of God is a little hazy, in a moment of tiredness or in a moment of disappointment, these impulses surge out like a torrent overflowing its ridges and flood our consciousness. And the apparently faultless person becomes abominable.

This is a school of life. We have to learn the art of living. We have to be comprehensive towards the needs of others. We should help all those who are sincere but conditioned and with weak willpower to canalize and orient their urges upwards—without brutally negating them. If one is addicted to tobacco, let him smoke a cigarette once in a while. If one is an alcoholic, let him drink a glass once in a while. If one is addicted to sex, let him have an intercourse once in while. In this way the mind organizes itself to do always better, to improve. If a devotee is helped, cared for and inspired spiritually, receiving guidance and mercy by the spiritual master and understanding by the vaishnavas, and behaving sincerely, then this process will lead to a purification of one’s samskaras and desires. Bhakti is especially meant for the correction and transformation of one’s deep, unconscious tendencies (vasanas). Brutal negations are a terrible teaching and it's for this reason that great thinkers have classified also organized religion—or rather the Churches—as one of the neurosis-generating environments: family, work and religion. Religions, when interpreted rigidly, to the letter, are dangerous means of serious conditioning, of neurosis, but religion, when explained by the spiritual master, sadhus and realized persons, is an extraordinarily effective means of spiritual realization.

In the same 'tree' category there are hundreds and thousands of different trees, similarly there are many different human beings. We can't make one law for everyone and make it so rigid that it doesn't work for anyone. There must be general moral definitions, but they can’t be applied in the same way to every individual. We should have general definitions because man lives in community, is a social being and can't negate his social needs. General definitions drive the group to grow; comparison among peers generates the drive for improvement, also among spiritualists. But even in law, the general definitions are not applicable to all individuals in the same way. Therefore the legislator—in our case the spiritual master, the Vaisnavas—has to understand the peculiarities of each person. The law remains one for everyone, but there should be personal considerations in the application.

Question:

I would like to verify if I understood properly: we should see our spouse as a person who is helping us dissolve that attachment that is not spiritual—and which causes damage—and therefore we see him or her as a friend, with a sentiment of reciprocal help. This relation is like one of the various camps established in climbing a mountain, right?

 Yes, if you feel alone and incapable of reaching the summit you might be overcome by desolation and by anguish. You might lack the energy to even start the climb. But you do have the desire to reach the summit and therefore we are not talking of grihamedhis but of grihasthas, whose aim is spiritual realization. Sometimes it's necessary to make this journey in two, because by oneself one doesn't have enough strength, even psychologically. It's crucial that the spouses remind each other of why they got together. When a spouse has a difficult moment, the other must remind him or her of the original motivation in a consistent way. Otherwise, if they both forget, they go somewhere else.

 Question:

It's about continence, abstinence from sex. Sometimes the couple fails to control the sexual urge and becomes so "confidential," so familiar that they reach a point where they don't value each other any more; they can't see each other's good qualities anymore.

 This is a very interesting question. There is a confidentiality that doesn't diminish respect. That's confidentiality on a spiritual basis. When familiarity becomes excessive and it's reduced to the material plane, it inevitably creates disrespect and causes disappointment. Step by step this darkness envelops the zone of light until the relation is largely consumed, depleted. During the excitement, the enthusiasm of the moment one doesn't perceive that this is happening, but it does actually happen. One whose vision is sufficiently detached—but attentive, profound, discriminating—can understand when this happens. Therefore we should try to define what love is, because this helps a lot, it helps enormously in creating categories. Life needs categories; otherwise we don't understand what's happening.

yasya deve para bhaktir

yatha deve tatha gurau

tasyaite kathita hy arthau

prakacante mahatmanau

 "Only unto one who has unflinching devotion to the Lord and to the spiritual master does transcendental knowledge become automatically revealed."

(Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)

In the path of bhakti, love is defined as the sentiment for guru and Krishna. Just like food has to be inserted in the mouth; there are innumerable other ways of inserting food but they don't work. One could make little balls of rice and stick them in one’s ears, but it doesn't work. One could even try intravenously, and also in that case there would be nourishment, but it won't give pleasure and real strength. Srila Prabhupada said: "We teach all men to love Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. If you learn how to love Krishna, which is very easy, then immediately you love every living being simultaneously." (Letter of 10th March 1970) Only the unflinching love for God gives the strength to love all other creatures. This is an essential point; the capacity to love all others is the result of loving God. Otherwise love undergoes devolution, degeneration; it becomes egoistic. Slowly, slowly it shrinks to the level of ahankara, false ego, the reflected self, the atma reflecting on the mental field.

What is the ahankara? It's the sum of all the psychic contents with which we identify. Love in this form shrinks to the minute field of the psychic contents, thus practically negating all the real needs of the living being. The effect of love for God, or love "in God"(yasya deve para bhaktir—deve is in the locative case) is not like falling inside a well and getting locked up. Love of God multiplies in love for the husband, for the wife, for the children, for the parents, for the neighbors, for the so-called enemies and for the so-called friends. Therefore through bhakti we can enter into respectful affection. There is morbid affection, which has no respect—think of the pedophiles and the rapists. Criminologists working on the psychological profiles of criminals, would assure that they always talk of affection, of an overflowing affection, but they often cause huge disasters. Love of God is that affection that bubbles over, overflows, and benefits everyone.

Pull quotes:

 This is a school of life. We have to learn the art of living.

I believe that in the past many tragedies occurred due to interpreting things, although in good faith, in a rigid manner instead of in a rigorous manner.

When familiarity becomes excessive and it's reduced to the material plane, it inevitably creates disrespect and causes disappointment.

1 As for the development of any other quality, either physical or mental, also for willpower a discipline is needed (sadhana-bhakti). The efforts will be abundantly repaid, because a wise, well-developed willpower ensures success in all human activities.

This is the first of 14 parts of a seminar given in 2004

Karnamrita das: The stark reality of Kali's age wars, bodily hatred and violence poverty, starvation, new epidemics many diseases, types of slow deaths.

Karnamrita das: Uncovering the Blue Flute Player from the "Blues" My material life’s ideals— to be happy and fulfilled by meaningful, loving relationships, useful work complementing my nature helpful to others, making a difference in the world.

VOICE Newsletter Team: V.O.I.C.E. News Letter for the month of January'09 is more colourful with more and more inspirational articles, preaching news.etc

Jayo das: I am writing to request your prayers for Yamaraja prabhu: he is suffering from a bone cancer! Let him stay with us to continue his service at BTG, or let him be able tp leave his body in full KC

Janardana dasa: On behalf of Sri Krsna Balaram Mandir we would like to extend our humble invitation to all the Vaishnavas all over the world for our post Gaura Purnima Festival which will be held from March 15th to 22nd

By Kesava Krsna Dasa

There is something called “treadmill” yoga. One can walk and run for miles on a treadmill and sweat until one drops, but one is going nowhere in particular. Is there any wonder why the path of devotion appears to be an immense slog?

By Deena Bandhu dasa

This is one of the best times of the year as the weather is very pleasant and it is not so hot like after Mayapur Festival. Since our festival ends on the 22nd, then everyone has time to reach Mayapur for the Maha-abhisheka on Feb. 25th.

By Matsya Avatara Dasa

Only he who is free inside, by the application of abstinence (yama) and prescriptions (nyama), can think independently and freely decide, acting with emotional detachment and with no interest for the result of his actions but only constructively in favor of all creatures

Mens International Yoga Asana Championship from Mike McInnis on Vimeo.

That's the video for the men. The first two competitors are Nathan and Stephen from Australia (it's done in alphabetical order by country). Nathan nailed his routine right on 3 minutes - close! Steve didn't do too good in his set in LA, but he was awesome in Melbourne. I realized I was way, way out of my league when I saw him warming up with that one-armed balance backstage at the Australian finals - at least until we meet again next year...

You can see the calibre of the 2009 world men's champion, Dev Kapil of Singapore, at 53:45. That's real Indian yogi stuff. I think it was pretty obvious he'd won when he did his set.

You can see the women's video too at www.yogacup.com. The Australians are first up again. Go girls!

Prague, Taichi akademie

You have a choice whether you would like to spend your life simply making a living or if you opt to make a powerful, positive difference in the history of this planet. Do you prefer to be someone who contributes to the ever-increasing degradation of the planetary society by your participation in its sense gratificatory culture? Or would you rather have...

The definition of a devotee is based on two simple premises in my opinion. First, a devotee recognizes the authority of God as the supreme proprietor and controller of the world and of himself. Second, he or she understands their own distressed and spiritually impoverished condition in relation to God. Before we can recognize our oneness with the Lord, we need to recognize our smallness. By recognizing our smallness, we also see the oneness of all jivas with God which leads us to offer them profound respect.

Respect is not lip-deep or a misty new age projection. It is a profound regards for other jivas that creates a feeling of heartfelt compassion for their suffering. No one can love another jiva or be in a position to guide them or save them, without first having basic respect for them. You cannot be a guru, father, mother, husband or leader without respecting those who are depending on you.

Where there is false pride, you will see imitation leadership, bullying and cronyism. The results will not be inspiring. Love and devotion will be conspicuous by their absence. The "us and them" mentality will prevail. Disrespect will be the currency of communication.

When we look at the dealings of devotees in all camps, more often than not we see a culture of indifference and disrespect. Everyone attempts to present themselves or their group as self righteously perfect. We hear blatant name calling, condescension, contemptuous language, straw man arguments, guilt by association and twisted logic all over the internet between vaisnavas. And we wonder: are these immodest persons really devotees?

It takes more than theoretical knowledge, semantics and basic faith to be a devotee. Sambhanda, the first stage of bhakti, is not just knowing our eternal relationship with God, but also knowing and acknowledging our separation from God due to our own mistakes. To act with respect and without duplicity towards others is required to pass the entrance exam to bhakti. Spiritual practice (abhidheya) and the goal of life (prayojana), are out of context without sambhanda. Often more harm than good can be done by pretending to practice or to have achieved the goal without experiencing and acting on this foundation of our true position.

If someone praises God without acknowledging their own smallness and inner fallen condition, certainly they are pious, but are they a devotee?

I challenge anyone who claims to be a devotee to first accept their own distressed, miserable condition and acknowledge it publicly. To avoid seeking praise or profit for oneself based on so-called devotion and to genuinely respect others will go a long way to create an atmosphere where a real society of devotees can grow.

Such open hearted behavior is the pillar of success in spiritual life, as expressed in the teaching of Sriman Mahaprabhu: amanina manadena. According to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, this advice is the ultimate siddha-pranali mantra. (The mantra for attaining your spiritual body.)

Until we can think and act with genuine respect for others, we shall never be able to create proper relationships with other vaisnavas or with anyone. Devotees who call for loyalty or those who call for reform without this spirit of genuine respect are only wasting their words. This modesty is more than etiquette. We have all seen how words spoken without sincerity do more harm than good. What is needed is a paradigm shift, a new pattern, a reprogramming of our personality. This is particularly relevant to any devotee in a leadership position. Without such a shift, you may be able to temporarily impress or control others, but the last laugh will be on you. You shall have to ask yourself at the time of death: am i really a devotee?

I'm afraid the answer to the question, "who is a devotee?" is still pending for the vast majority of us. We have not yet answered this basic question for ourself or have not even bothered to ask it. We find it impossible to get together for the greater good because we are not able to get our own inner house in order. We distract ourselves by shouting at each other, jockeying for some position, giving up to bad habits or struggling on in loneliness. When we make it our necessity to shift our egoistic thinking and sacrifice our old habits, we will probably find, that our life is no longer morose, our doubts no longer trouble us and our hopes no longer are in vain.

Different from the other churches mentioned, the vice president of the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork, Charu Das, took a firm stance on the issue. "Evolution is a myth," Das said. "There is no evidence to support it. "Das said that the real evolution is that of the soul, where one moves from a lower species to a higher species. "All species were originally created in the beginning by God," Das said.

Everything that we collect from the yoga class on the night of Wednesday 18th February is going to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire appeal, so come along and help out by doing yoga.

It’s $18 ($15 conces.) for the class and dinner afterwards. You can give more if you like. 100% of the proceeds will go to help the bushfire victims, some of whom have lost everything, including close family members.

We’re saving every cent for the new studio at the moment, but we also think it’s important to come together as a community to support our neighbours in their time of need.

The Australian Red Cross has announced that money is what’s most needed, and no administration costs will be deducted from donations, so that’s how we’re going to do our little bit to help.

My chili plants are growing wonderfully. This is my showcase specimen. Lots of rain showers this week has ensured a moist soil without the need to water.

Warmer weather ahead will cause the literally hundreds of buds on my 8 main plants to flower and fruit quickly. It seems I have two varieties, but time will tell.

At this stage, it's hard for me to discern the variety in fruit at the moment. Many chilies start off looking like this. Check the total list of 35 possibilities and see if you can guess. I am tending towards the Bequinhos from Brazil. But as the fruits grow, their true nature will become evident.

By the way, I casually threw some black mustard seeds in a circle in my planter box. They sprouted in a couple of days. Succulent mustard greens grow very fast indeed.

I can use them in soups or dals or salads, or just dig them back in to the soil to enrich it with mega doses of nitrogen. Gardening is so much fun, even in a tiny space.

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 [...]

1966 February 11: "There was no response of the visitors invited to come and join Hari Kirtan this evening. But I alone executed the Kirtan ceremony with my tape recorder till 10 pm. The following letters were posted: Morning Telegram, Times Mirror Co., N.B.C. Radio, WOR, WNYC."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 February 11: "I wish that each and every Branch shall keep their independent identity and cooperate keeping the Acarya in the centre. On this principle we can open any number of Branches all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1973 February 11: "Even they are going to jail daily, but still they will not stop their chanting and distributing. Our Sankirtana activities will go on unchecked. Simply we must have the determination to continue under all circumstances."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

The streets seemed almost eerie in their muted commotion. 

I had emerged from my apartment mid-afternoon, bracing myself for the insanity of Vrindavan streets.

But something was different today.

I furrowed my brow, slightly smiling. I walked on to the mukutwalla’s - the deity clothing and jewelry expert - to confirm my order and choose jewelry for my parent’s deities, Sri Radha Raman. I braced myself for this too – the shop was usually busy, the owner of Nanda Kishor usually too preoccupied with other customers to pay me much heed.

But today was different. 

I opened the glass door to the shop. The owner sat placidly in his usual spot by the door, the soft afternoon light slanting in and illuminating him and his shop as he read from a clipboard. I was the only customer.

In India, there are no superfluous greetings or niceties. The owner simply glanced up, then gestured me to sit. With few words, he had arrayed before me boxes and bags of jewelry. 

In the quiet, as I selected jewelry, he began to ask me where I was from, about my family. I felt surprised and charmed by his newfound curiosity. In turn, I asked him, “How long have you been doing this business?”

“All of my life. And my father before, and father before.”

I whistled. I continued sifting through colors and styles of necklaces. 

“You see, up there? My ishta-deva, [my personal connection with the deity form of Krishna,] is Sri Radha Raman,” he gestured to a jeweled frame placed high up on a shelf; the picture of the Krishna deity was black and white. Common history told that the deity had resided in Vrindavan for over 450 years. “It’s a very old picture,” he added.

I became curious. “How long have you lived in Vrindavan?”

“Whole life. Three generations… my great-grandfather moved here many, many years ago.”

I whistled a second time. “Wow. Vrindavan must have been so… so… hidden then. Mystical.”

“Oh yes.”

“I confess, I find Vrindavan very hectic. It’s hard for me to taste the sweetness here.”

The mukutwalla was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Ah, there is a hidden mysticism to Vrindavan. It is not on the surface. The hidden mysticism of Vrindavan…” he trailed off.

I glanced up from the jewelry array and my hands stilled.  It was just a moment, and unceremonious, but it will remain with me all of my life as the moment I began to see the real Vrindavan. 

I will never forget the expression on the mukutwalla’s face. His eyes were gazing out the window, as if focused on something far off. He seemed to be envisioning Vrindavan in the time of his great-grandfather, a land of ancient forests, hidden mysticism, and the beautiful Radha Raman deity. 

Humility washed over me in a great wave. I knew nothing. Nothing. I was simply a young girl from the West who had come to Vrindavan for barely a month. I had taken this land – and everyone in it – at face value. 

I glanced up to the antique picture of the mukutwalla’s ishta-deva. “You know, I just realized… my parent’s deities names are also Radha Raman,” I said softly.

The mukutwalla turned to me and smiled.

A general issue has been resurfacing in whatever preaching attempts that have very easily come my way recently. (Really I’m not putting much prana into that department at present) Basically, everyone is telling me, yes Krishna is very, very nice but… Guru I just don’t know about that. How can I take instructions from an [...]

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.12 - Krsna's appreciation for His devotee's service increases exponentially.

In Indore many gentlemen would come to meet Srila Prabhupada in his room, usually with their own ideas of spiritual life. Srila Prabhupada complained, "They come to the guru with their own opinions to see if the guru will agree. If the guru agrees, he is very good. But if the guru disagrees, they think, ‘He is not good.' "

(Told by Giriraja Maharaja, BTG #32-06, 1998)

We are very happy to announce that we just launched the new iskconmedia.com. The site has much more content than before and features a clean and easy to use design. Have a look:

The mp3 section has thousands of files sorted by ISKCON devotees and album. We started with this selection but will add more in the future.

For example, here is Indradyumna Swami’s page with biography and lectures.
You can also vote individual devotees, albums and mp3 files.

We don’t want to explain everything so just visit the new site and tell us what you think.

 http://www.iskconmedia.com/

your servants,
iskcontech team

"I do not like to work with patients who are in love. Perhaps it is because of envy-I, too, crave enchantment. Perhaps it is because love and psychotherapy are fundamentally incompatible. The good therapist fights darkness and seeks illumination, while romantic love is sustained by mystery and crumbles upon inspection. I hate to be love’s executioner."

Happy Valentines Day

Baladev das singing the Tulasi Puja prayers.

Wow! All done.

2008-12-31
Dallas, TX

Download: 2008-12-31 - 21 - 12 hr Bhajans - Baladev das - Tulasi Puja Prayers.mp3

“Gee something smells good in there,” I heard the voice coming from the open front door as I stirred the pot of dahl that I was cooking to offer my Deities this afternoon. “Oh no,” I thought to myself, “I don't want someone lusting over my offering before I've offered it.” I turned to see a pleasant looking woman with her 10 year old daughter standing at the door, looking ever so well-meaning with a magazine in her hand.

“Good afternoon,” I pleasantly greeted them as I slowly walked up to the doorway to talk. The smiling lady started to preach to me about how they were giving out these magazines today, and that they told how God is the answer to all the problems of the world today.

I agreed and immediately told her that He certainly is, and that He is the cause and source of everything, and that we worship Him with everything we do. I went on to explain to her in a nice way, how we even offer our cooking to God as a sacrament before we eat it, and we don't even enjoy the smell of food before it's been offered to God.

She obviously understood my reference to her previous comment and countered with her own argument, “Yes, but God gave us smelling didn't he?”

“Well yes”, I replied, “but we use our smelling to serve Him, for His pleasure, not to enjoy the senses separately from Him. Once the food is offered to God, then we appreciate how wonderful it smells.”

The concept seemed to float past her, strangely attractive, but slightly out of reach. I reflected on how such concepts that devotees who practically serve the Deity form of the Lord find simple and straightforward, are very difficult to grasp for one who does not have a personal relationship with the Deity.

My smiling visitor then took another tack, utilizing a well-worn tenant of post-Christ Christianity: “Well we're all sinful at heart aren't we?”

I immediately thought of the verse from Caitanya Caritamrita where Krsnadas Kaviraja Goswami tells us, 'nitya siddha krsna prema, sadhya kabu naya, sravanadi suddha citte karaye udhaya' and gave her the essence: “Well, we believe that we are pure and beautiful at heart, but we are just covered by this material sinfulness. Just like Jesus said to hate the sin, not the sinner. By serving God with our sense we can reawaken our original pure and beautiful nature”.

“That's such a beautiful way of looking at things,” said the lady, genuinely appreciative of the sampradayic knowledge, as she went back to her main mission of trying to get me to take her magazine; while her daughter watched on, seemingly bemused that her mother was being preached to by someone else, who seemed to know as much, or even more about God than she.

“Thanks all the same, and I really appreciate your sincerity in coming out here and knocking on doors, but we are going to live in a holy place in India in a week, so I won't be needing that. But I wish you all the best, and may God be with you.”

“And may he be with you too”, said the sincere preacher at my door, who took my leave and went on to spread the good word leaving me reflecting on what an amazing process of self-realization we have been given by Lord Caitanya, that easily and clearly illuminates the subtlest of spiritual truths, which remain hidden to even the most sincere practitioners of other traditions.

Patricia N from Southwark, London, UK writes: "Kurma, can you share with me some non-grain flour ideas?"

My reply: "Yes. Here's my list of non-grain flours, some you may not have encountered."

amaranth

Amaranth flour: Milled from the seeds of the amaranth plant, this flour boasts a higher percentage of protein than most other grains, and has more fibre than wheat and rice. It is also higher in the amino acid lysine, which some food scientists believe makes it a more complete protein than flour made from other grains. Amaranth flour can be used in cookies, crackers, baking mixes, and cereals.

Arrowroot flour: The rootstalks of a tropical plant are the source of this flour, often used as a thickener for sauces and desserts; the finely powdered arrowroot turns completely clear when dissolved (giving gloss to sauces), and adds no starchy flavor. Because of its easy digestibility, it is also an used as an ingredient in cookies intended for infants and young children. I use it as a grain-free substitute to corn flour (cornstarch for all US readers).

Buckwheat flour: A common ingredient in pancake mixes, buckwheat flour is also used to make Japanese soba noodles. It is available in light, medium, and dark varieties (the dark flour boasts the strongest flavor), depending on the kind of buckwheat it is milled from. You can make your own buckwheat flour by processing whole white buckwheat groats in a blender or food processor.

Chestnut flour: This tan flour is made from chestnuts, the meaty, lowfat nuts that are often served as a vegetable. The flour is a little sweet and is traditionally used in Italian holiday desserts. Italian shops sell it.

Potato flour (potato starch): Steamed potatoes are dried and then ground to a powder to make this gluten-free flour, which is commonly used in baked goods for Jewish Passover (when wheat flour may not be used).

Quinoa flour: Higher in fat than wheat flour, quinoa flour makes baked goods more moist. You can make your own quinoa flour by processing whole quinoa in a blender; stop before the flour is too fine - it should be slightly coarse, like cornmeal.

Tapioca flour: Milled from the dried starch of the cassava root, this flour thickens when heated with water and is often used to give body to puddings, fruit pie fillings, and soups. It can also be used in baking.

Water-chestnut flour (water-chestnut powder): This Asian ingredient is a fine, powdery starch that is used to thicken sauces (it can be substituted for cornstarch) and to coat foods before frying to give them a delicate, crisp coating.

I am sure this is not a complete list. I also encountered flatbreads made from banana flour whilst in India. Last time I posted this information I received this letter from a reader:

"I also have some more flours used by Gujarati Krishna Devotees.

1) Ragigara (or Ragigaro or rajgira) flour - Very small - is a very small tiny seeds like yellow mustard seeds but much smaller. The seeds can be used to make popcorn and these popped seeds are used to make khir with milk and sugar. The flour is used to make halavah which turns out to be a brown and sticker than regular halavah. The flour is used to make vada, parathas, puris, rotis and small pakoras with mashed potatoes using herbs, ground black pepper and salt added. (note from Kurma: this is amaranth, as described in my list above.)

2) Singado flour. Pakoras are made using ground peanuts and mashed potatoes, little baking power, salt and coriander leaves and ground black pepper. (note from Kurma: this is another name for Water Chestnut flour, as described above.)

3) Cassava grits and flour. (very starchy but sweet tasting roots). Boil the grits with 2 to 3 times the water. It turns into mashed potato consistency and any chopped vegetables can be added. These can also be used to make halavah and base for the Ekadasi Pizza. Boiled Cassava makes excellent subji with lots of fresh tomatoes. Boiled - sliced (one inch thick sticks) - Fried sticks sprinkled with black pepper and salt and a little lemon, make amazing chips that far surpass potato chips. Hope this helps. Gandhari Dasi"

I awoke to the sounds of stomping feet and beating drums. There was a contagious buzz already surrounding the group the morning of the event. Gaura’s house was filled with busy people. Some were rehearsing, some were ironing, some were rushing from here to there to help with the preparations for the event but everyone was excited, and everyone had a smile on their face. For the first time that I could see, busy preparation time had actually turned into “service attitude of love” time. Although everyone had their part to do, people were happy to be a part of making this event happen. I took a deep breath and smiled, not quite knowing what the evening was going to bring. I knew that the show had been sold out and that there would be standing room only, but I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. (more…)

1967 February 11 : "Here the climate is certainly like India and I am feeling comfortable but uncomfortable also because in New York I felt so much at home on account of beloved students like you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1967 February 11 : "There will be a great exposition in Montral and millions of people will gather there from all parts of the world. We have to prepare literatures and draw the attention of the university students as our members."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1967 February 11 : "Wherever we get opportunities we must perform Kirtana. Our popularity in this part of the country is increasing. You should also arrange for such Kirtana programs in different churches and societies."
Letters :: 1967

1970 February 11 : "We should not pray to Krishna for anything except to ask to engage in His service. If we are engaged in His service then automatically everything will be revealed."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 February 11 : "This is very essential. I would like to know if the initiated devotees are chanting regularly sixteen rounds and following the regulative principles rigidly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 February 11: "Even they are going to jail daily, but still they will not stop their chanting and distributing. Our Sankirtana activities will go on unchecked. Simply we must have the determination to continue under all circumstances."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1966 February 11: "There was no response of the visitors invited to come and join Hari Kirtan this evening. But I alone executed the Kirtan ceremony with my tape recorder till 10 pm. The following letters were posted: Morning Telegram, Times Mirror Co., N.B.C. Radio, WOR, WNYC."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 February 11: "I wish that each and every Branch shall keep their independent identity and cooperate keeping the Acarya in the centre. On this principle we can open any number of Branches all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

By Mayapur.tv

The Mercy of Pancha-Tattva Within Everyone's Reach. Six fancy cameras have been installed in the temple room with a high-speed internet connection. A broadcasting/mixing room has been constructed and a film crew have come from the UK to film around the campus

We rang in the New Year at Radha Govinda Mandir with kirtan, and spent the first day of the New Year doing kirtan in Princeton, NJ. It was the first time that I was able to attend the program, even though the devotees there have the program monthly. The room was small but we were able to fit enough devotees in it to have a rocking kirtan that everyone was able to enjoy. (more…)

Perugia, a historic city and the main town of a fertile and open region, welcomed Marco Ferrini who, on January 31st, held a conference titled: “Karmic affinities and affectionate relationships” which took place at the well known Sala dei Notari of Priori Palace.

 

A great number of participants from different ages and social- cultural backgrounds, listened with great interest to the topics and took part to the program of questions and answers with a lively participation.

In relation  to the Traditional Indian culture, the lecturer explained the concept of karma, according to it, each  action produces a specific effect,  determined by the spirit of acting.

The teachings of ancient Wisdom explain that each human soul  is not only made of matter and psyche, rather, its most precious and essential constituency is made of spiritual nature. Different “electromagnetic and psychological” fields spring from its psychophysical structure, and, consequently,  in relation to their nature and quality, other fields of attraction originate.  For this reason people are born in the same family, because of “karmic affinity”, depending on performed experiences and on the consequent psychological formation and level of consciousness which were originated.

The karmic load is the result of  the sum of the consequences of ones actions.  It is evident that  a good action will not generate the same consequences as a bad action which will harm others with the purpose to achieve a selfish target.

The highest goal of existence is to reach the understanding and growing inside, step by step along the Journey of Life, a kind of compassionate Love that allows us to relate to others in as much constructive and evolutionary way as possible, so as to reach the highest level of pure devotional Love for God and for all creatures, the real source of happiness, as shown by the great acharyas of the various spiritual authentic Traditions.

 

The purpose of man is realizing his divine nature, with the understanding of the importance to live without making enemies and without damaging any other living beings because we are all part of the same common divine origin.  We should grow  in goodness, respectfulness, tolerance and show compassion for all creatures, realizing our deep instances, while releasing the conditionings caused by the  distorted and egocentric perception of our self, which is the main cause of sufferance and personality disturbances.

Whatever choices we make, we have to live with the consequences - good or bad.

Book distribution is never an experience out of a textbook-no two days are same, no two customers alike. Preparing for challenges help, but one should be ready to expect the unexpected. And with advancing Kaliyuga, the tests will be not only more frequent, but also more bewildering, more so in a metropolis like Mumbai. One day, during the December marathon last year, Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu, a devotee in Brahmchari training in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, was faced with one such challenge. Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu is a young devotee from Orissa. He is dark and medium built and always has a bright smile on his face. He recalls: One day I was distributing books in the local trains in Mumbai when I came across a boy sitting with his girlfriend. Generally such couples are lost in their own world and rarely accept books. Anyway, I made my announcements about the books and began showing it to interested people. Then a hand shot up. It was the boy. I showed him the book. He flipped through it, showed it the girl, and then returned it. "Nice book," he smiled.

"Then please take it," I smiled too.

"Well I err. I have to ask my mom before I take it."

I looked in his eyes and said, "Did you ask your mom before sitting with this girl?"

The remark was heavy but I said it with a smile. He could have easily got up and smacked me, and in no ways I could have defended myself. I quickly decided to exit.

As I turned he called me, "Wait a minute. You are right. Give me the book."

This was not the only time Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu boldly preached the truth. Once he met a gang of young men who were having a wild time in the train. Again he decided to confront them.

I went to this group who were talking loudly and were very animated. I made announcement. They stared at me quizzically and then one of them spoke up,

"Don't waste your time here Pandit Ji, we are not interested in your books." One said in a soft voice, "We are Muslims."

"No,' I replied, "Laws of nature spare no one. If you put your hands in fire it will burn. You can not say that you don't believe in its burning power. Similarly the wisdom of Bhagwad Gita is for everyone,"

The same man who said that he was not interested called me and took a Bhagavad Gita. (Text D:41644) ---------------------------------------------

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

Book distribution is never an experience out of a textbook-no two days are same, no two customers alike. Preparing for challenges help, but one should be ready to expect the unexpected. And with advancing Kaliyuga, the tests will be not only more frequent, but also more bewildering, more so in a metropolis like Mumbai. One day, during the December marathon last year, Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu, a devotee in Brahmchari training in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir, was faced with one such challenge. Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu is a young devotee from Orissa. He is dark and medium built and always has a bright smile on his face. He recalls: One day I was distributing books in the local trains in Mumbai when I came across a boy sitting with his girlfriend. Generally such couples are lost in their own world and rarely accept books. Anyway, I made my announcements about the books and began showing it to interested people. Then a hand shot up. It was the boy. I showed him the book. He flipped through it, showed it the girl, and then returned it. "Nice book," he smiled.

"Then please take it," I smiled too.

"Well I err. I have to ask my mom before I take it."

I looked in his eyes and said, "Did you ask your mom before sitting with this girl?"

The remark was heavy but I said it with a smile. He could have easily got up and smacked me, and in no ways I could have defended myself. I quickly decided to exit.

As I turned he called me, "Wait a minute. You are right. Give me the book."

This was not the only time Bhagwan Pandit Prabhu boldly preached the truth. Once he met a gang of young men who were having a wild time in the train. Again he decided to confront them.

I went to this group who were talking loudly and were very animated. I made announcement. They stared at me quizzically and then one of them spoke up,

"Don't waste your time here Pandit Ji, we are not interested in your books." One said in a soft voice, "We are Muslims."

"No,' I replied, "Laws of nature spare no one. If you put your hands in fire it will burn. You can not say that you don't believe in its burning power. Similarly the wisdom of Bhagwad Gita is for everyone,"

The same man who said that he was not interested called me and took a Bhagavad Gita. (Text D:41644) ---------------------------------------------

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

Dealing with Illicit Sex

By Matsyavatara dasa

Question: In ISKCON we are taught to follow the four regulative principles, among which avoiding illicit sex is often the most crucial one. However, there are situations where one member of the couple doesn’t agree on practicing sexual restraint, and this could lead to the drastic break-up of the marriage. What can be done in such cases?

This is a burning issue, which requires an honest and urgent clarification. It is not the first time I talk about it, but so far I have done it only with very intimate students.

According to my understanding of Srila Prabhupada’s teachings, I distinguish between two categories of illicit sex: the first is pre-marital and outside marriage—they belong to the same category—and the second is within wedlock, between a regular couple united before God, with the authorization and blessing of the spiritual master, who sanctifies the marriage. Both categories are classified as illicit sex—to use the classic terminology—but for me there is no comparison between the consequences of extra-conjugal illicit sex and those from illicit sex within a religiously constituted couple. The term “illicit sex” is used to point out that sexual organs are not toys and, for both men and women, their proper function is procreation. Sexual organs are parts of the body with a precise function, and every other function is improper or “illicit.” Having said this, the embodied being experiences many conditionings, arriving to this body with a huge karmic load of samskaras¹ and vasanas.² For some people, therefore, the urges could be so strong that, despite all good intentions, there could be some lapses. But one thing is the lapse occurring within the married couple, and quite another thing is the lapse outside marriage. Outside the regular couple the failure is disastrous, both personally and socially, whereas within the regularly constituted couple the damage is contained—but I am still talking of damage, don't misunderstand. There is no comparison between the two damages. By the mercy of the divine grace, I have always strongly stressed the importance of following the regulative principles, and I am not talking like this to promote a different behavior, a different standard. I do believe that those who seek spiritual realization and aspire to develop pure love of God should strictly follow the regulative principles, and therefore should not engage in illicit sexual activities. At the same time, in my many years of experience counseling people, I have witnessed a lot of suffering caused by the uncritical, uncompromising application of the law.

People live on different planes of consciousness: it is exceptional to find two people on the same level, even if they both sincerely desire to become devotees at the same time. In a couple, there is often a partner who makes quick advancement, while the other might remain stationary for some time. This usually generates a gap. I have been advising couples for more than twenty years to help each other, be patient and tolerant. If one of the two needs help, the other should offer it generously. Perhaps I have not stressed this enough… I consider that one should rigorously follow the regulative principles, but I am now talking of cases that could lead to serious turmoil in a family and usually leading to betrayal. I don't want to suggest that anyone should abandon the principle of purity, but it should be understood that people can be cured through constant love and affection. If between husband and wife there is real sincerity and friendship, in some measure there will also be real love and affection; if there is the willingness to overcome one's limitations, some careful concessions can be excused, thus avoiding very big, serious and irreparable havoc.

In my answer I limit myself to saying that we shouldn't put extra-conjugal illicit sex on the same level as the occasional weaknesses in married life. Considering them the same would show a lack of spiritual comprehension and maturity and a misunderstanding of the function of controlling sexual energies. To rectify a person—to rectify the character, to cure a disease—we need to follow the path of recovery. An expert doctor always knows how to administer the medicine. I am not surprised or astonished if a young couple of my students once in a while indulge in effusions that go beyond the limit. Of course, I absolutely don't encourage such things because they dissipate emotional resources and increase bodily identification, distracting the devotee from the real purpose of life: Krishna-bhakti. At the same time, I am in my late fifties and I have some knowledge and experience of psychology, I have seen people who have rigidly negated their impulses for a long time and later—even in the guise of renouncers—have abandoned their religious vows.

Repression and Sublimation

Whoever represses his sexual instincts without being able to sublimate them—which means increasing his sadhana and connection to guru and Krishna—won't be able to resist long enough, and will inevitably head for a falldown. These falldowns could be so serious that the individual thrown in such a state of moral and spiritual prostration, might not be able to rise again, at least in that lifetime. As the Vaisnava scriptures explain, only a few people in this age are already so elevated that they can immediately and completely abstain from sexual activity. The majority of people need gradual distancing, protected by the institution of marriage and regulated by the four principles—the necessary groundwork for ethical life and the pursuit of spiritual realization. The management of emotions requires great competence and maturity, both cultural and spiritual. The guidance and direct assistance of the spiritual master is therefore essential, especially in crucial moments of life, when one is called to make fundamental choices (e.g.: choice of asrama) that, if wrongly handled, could jeopardize or stop spiritual advancement.

Both repression of instincts and indiscriminate indulgence can produce neurosis and serious personality disorders. Our Vaisnava literature explains that psycho-physical energies, indispensable for the journey towards transcendence, should be neither negated or repressed, nor indiscriminately dispersed; they should be correctly used, beneficially and propaedeutically to the development of personality. In other words, they should be sublimated by engaging in devotional service. Hari-nama japa and nama sankirtana, Deity worship and spiritual association are the best means to overcome problems of lust.

Experience teaches us that through the discipline of bhakti-yoga it is not only possible to sublimate impulses—by the elimination of their self-destructive unconscious charge—but also to re-integrate them on the plane of pure consciousness, as divine rasa. Otherwise, when one gives in to such impulses without discrimination, they obnubilate and obscure the consciousness, provoking confusion, frustration and suffering; they enslave the subject in ephemeral conceptions and bodily identities, in destructive tendencies and instincts. The science of bhakti aims at the exact opposite: making the person fully conscious of his divine nature, his own relationship with God and an instrument for everybody’s well being, including his own.

The second and third chapter of the Bhagavad-gita teach us that whoever represses certain impulses but keeps cultivating attachment for the sense objects in the mind—persisting in their contemplation and internally longing for them—won't succeed in the path of yoga.³ We need to learn how to dissociate from the sense objects also psychologically, transcending the problem, and for this there is a discipline or a route to follow, with arrangements and methods that partially differ from person to person, according to the various states of consciousness and psychological conditioning. Such different arrangements are obviously all finalized to reach the same objective: overcome bodily identification and selfish gratification, and develop pure bhakti.⁴ Krishna says that discovering a higher taste is necessary to abandon the inferior, conditioned and conditioning taste, source of multiple sufferings, and to reorient physical and mental dynamics. "The embodied soul may be restricted from sense enjoyment, though the taste for sense objects [the desire for them] remains. By experiencing a higher taste and ceasing such engagements, he becomes fixed in [Krishna] consciousness."⁵

Right and Wrong Decisions

We should try to be honest and serious, first of all with ourselves. We should have a balanced vision and not accept the people’s vow of lifelong celibacy at a young age, without having shown tangible signs of maturity and dominion over the senses. This maturity should be on different planes: cognitive, emotional and behavioral. A choice that is the best in absolute terms, can produce serious damages if made at the wrong time, due to the person's lack of preparation. If not properly helped, the person who incurs in such difficulties generally develops a sense of self-failure and a heavy sense of guilt, which eventually cause inhibition, depression, emotional blocks and a stop to spiritual progress. This sense of guilt can be defined as pathological, whereas a healthy and beneficial sense of guilt arises when the person is aware of his mistakes and deeply repents them, finding in himself, guru and Krishna, the energies to rise above them.

Regarding such sensitive issues, specifically connected to life in the grihastha asrama, over many years I have noticed a vast symptomatology and many damages produced by hasty decisions and a rigid mentality. Many marriages have failed because the person experiencing difficulty in restraining the senses—when confronted with an overly rigid partner—has looked for satisfaction outside the marriage, starting love affairs and betraying the spouse, thus producing a hellish condition for all the people involved.

I recall a whole list of rigid people who first ruined their family members and then ruined themselves. Real affection means to come forward to the needs of others, and I believe that every real need in the family has to be taken into serious consideration. If a person thinks that he or she can't or shouldn’t concede anything, absolutely nothing, such person should not get married. And if he does get married, throughout his whole matrimonial life he will be bitterly reminded that he should not have married. Couple means two people, two people who promise to help each other for the rest of their lives. If one is in need and the other doesn't help, I don't know how this refusal could be beneficial for his spiritual advancement, and how it could be done in the name of devotion for Krishna. Of course there can be embarrassment, little enthusiasm and whatever else, but something has to be done to help.

I have seen so many cases of conflict and I have come to the deep conviction that there must be a mediation, there must be reciprocal affection, reciprocal care. When the desire for intercourse assumes a dangerous psychological proportion—producing a "fixed idea," a true neurosis—we should act as with any other disease, looking for a remedy and a cure. When I acted as a direct witness and I advised people in this way, they often solved their problem brilliantly, gradually finding balance, detachment and serenity, discovering a type of affection that was not based on sexual intercourse. Real affection, spiritual affection, has no need for sexual intercourse or physical contact. Such affection is the achievement of the target of bhakti, and is obtained after a long practice; it is not a starting point. At the beginning the couple might endeavor to overcome the problem, but to rise above it, the effort must be equipped with enough capacity and experience, and above all enough cultural and spiritual maturity in Krishna consciousness.

Cultural Conditioning

I spoke about religious duties, but now I wish to mention the cultural environment where each of us—consciously or unconsciously—lives. Over the last century, Western culture has been increasingly fascinated by rationalism and materialism, progressively polluting itself with a pseudo-scientific literature⁶ that has considerably contributed to the development of a dangerously permissive sexual behavior. Such literature has induced people to think of eroticism and sexual acts as something physiologically necessary, comparing sex desire to the need for food and air. Not only they have presented the satisfaction of such an urge as inevitable; they have even declared that whoever neglects it will develop psychological disorders. It is difficult to calculate the extent and harm that such mentality has caused and is causing. It is truly a social and psychological plague, both on the collective and on the individual level.

Spiritual Affection

On the plane of spiritual realization, of spiritual affection and friendship, sexual intercourse becomes totally needless, extraneous and artificial. But, as we know, people acquire perfection after long efforts. According to sastras, a married couple that can transcend illicit sex is on the direct, true path towards perfection. Until there are distractions, spiritual realization is overcast and shadowed.

Besides the authoritative sastric statements in this regard, the results of scientific research made by some American universities (Wisconsin, 1968) demonstrate that numerous couples can live well without sexual intercourse, provided they cultivate their interest for elevated ethical values.

First of all—as I said at the beginning of my answer—people should try hard to abstain from extra-conjugal sex, because this generates hellish conditions in the society, in the family, in the couple and in the relationship between parents and children. Such illicit connections, metaphorically speaking, create hell; they create great embarrassment and pain; they condemn children to experience distress and harmful life-models, and condemn the spouse to anguish and deep suffering. Illicit sex in family life is like giving methadone to a heroin-addict. Methadone is better than heroin (extra-conjugal sex), but better than methadone is to rise above the problem. Methadone also creates addiction, but not as strong and devastating as the addiction created by heroin. Illicit sex in family life creates dependence, addiction and identification with the body, besides being a great waste of energy—but there is no comparison with illicit sex out of the wedlock.

When my students intend to get married I ask them to get to know each other very well, and should thoroughly inquire about the other's choices and priorities in life. They should become deeply aware of the responsibility, the obligation, and the onerousness they assume in getting married. Then I become the witness, and I commit myself to help both of them to overcome all the difficulties and to face their responsibilities, which include economical, social, and emotional aspects. These are all comprised in the sphere of family responsibility and, consequently, of spiritual realization.

As I told you many times, ultimately to solve this type of problems the real solution is to seriously adopt a Krishna conscious mentality... But now I believe I should stop here with the answer. Obviously, given the magnitude and complexity of the theme, this answer will not satisfactorily exhaust the various topics touched, but it will merely serve as an orientation tool for deeper study and meditation.

Further along in the introduction to Contemplative Prayer by Thomas Merton, he speaks, in his own unique realization and style, that the prime gift of monastic/spiritual life is the ability to find the internal spiritual strength that is void in contemporary, consumerist society, and being able to share this strength with all those who need it most.

In a planet on edge, the opportunity strengthens to bring the full compassion of Krsna consciousness to the suffering hearts of our brothers and sisters. Merton writes:

"This is an age that, by its very nature as a time of crisis, of revolution, of struggle, calls for the special searching and questioning which are the work of the monk in his meditation and prayer. For the monk searches not only his own heart: he plunges deep into the heart of that world of which he remains a part although he seems to have left it. In reality the monk abandons the world only in order to listen more intently to the deepest and most neglected voices that proceed from its inner depth."

This is also Prabhupada's mood. It is our deepest responsibility as devotees, having received the gift of the wisdom from Prabhupada's books, to give it freely and with great intelligence and compassion.

We cannot remain holed up in ourselves or within our temple walls. We only waste away if we do not express to others the seed of devotion within our own hearts.

Ultimately we must bring up all the reserves of courage to face our own inner demons, for it is our duty to understand them, to face them, and to transcend them, only so we can learn to help others to do the same. Merton writes:

"The monk who is truly a man of prayer and who seriously faces the challenge of his vocation in all its depth is by that very fact exposed to existential dread. He experiences in himself the emptiness, the lack of authenticity, the quest for fidelity, the 'lostness' of modern man, but her experiences all this in an altogether different and deeper way that does man in the modern world. The monk confronts his own humanity and that of his world at the deepest and most central point where the void seems to open out to black despair. The monk confronts this serious possibility and rejects it, as Camusian man confronts 'the absurd' and transcends it by his freedom...The monk faces the worst and discovers in it the hope of the best. From the darkness comes light. From death, life."

Or as HH Bhakti-Tirtha Swami often said, we must die before dying, allowing Krsna through His mercy and our sincere effort to destroy the false ego.

Our sincere chanting, our sincere prayer, opens the door for this process to begin and continue, and we must have the courage and humility to allow Krsna to express His love and His neverending desire to deliver us back to Him.

The chanting of the Holy Name of Krsna, our most intimate prayer, is our strength and our guide, and the key to our higher self, by giving us countless opportunities to cast off our lower self.

By doing so, we please Prabhupada by becoming his dynamic, loving servants, empowered to offer the proof of eternal happiness to a world that needs it desperately.

To begin our "celebration" of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, we here at Club 108 offer you and yours a special bit of katha from Srila Prabhupada, from the excellent book "Life Comes From Life"

Morning Walk
4-19-73, Cheviot Hills Park, Los Angeles

"The Missing Link"
Dr.Singh (His Holiness Bhakti Swarup Damodar Maharaj): In fact, there are several theories explaining how life originated from matter, how living matter came from the non-living

Prabhupada: (casting Dr. Singh in the role of a materialistic scientist) All right, scientist, why is life not coming from matter now? You rascal. Why isn't life coming from matter now?

Actually such scientists are rascals. They childishly say that life came from matter, although they are not at all able to prove it. Our Krsna consciousness movement should expose all these rascals. They are only bluffing. Why don't they create life immediately? In the past, they say, life arose from matter, and they say that this will happen again in the future. They even say that they will create life from matter. What kind of theory is this? They have already commented that life began from matter. This refers to the past-"began". Then why do they now speak of the future? Is it not contradictory? They are expecting the past to occur in the future. This is childish nonsense.

Karandhar Prabhu: They say that life arose from matter in the past and that they will create life this way in the future.

P: What is this nonsense? If they cannot prove that life arises from matter in the present, how do they know life arose this way in the past?

Dr.S: They are assuming...

P: Everyone can assume, but this is not science. Everyone can assume something. You can assume something, I can assume something. But there must be proof. We can prove that life arises from life. For example, a father begets a child. The father is living, and the child is living. But where is there proof that a father can be a dead stone? Where is their proof? We can easily prove that life begins from life. And the original life is Krsna. That can also be proven. But what evidence exists that a child is born of stone? They cannot actually prove that life comes from matter. They are leaving that aside for the future. (Laughter)

K: The scientisis say that they can now formulate acids, amino acids, that are almost like one-celled living organisms. They say that because these acids so closely resemble living beings, there must be just one missing link needed before they can create life.

P: Nonsense! Missing link. I'll challenge them to their face! (Laughter) They are missing this challenge. The missing link is this challenge to their face.

If you would like to contribute to our year-long "celebration" of Darwin's 200th birthday, please send your articles, editorials, or any other creative and informative pieces to nvclub108@gmail.com

Australian Traveller's Beth Peglar visits the new Sticky Rice Cooking School in the Adelaide Hills and discovers the perfect balance of food, design, flavours and personalities. More...

ps...a number of you asked about whether the beefy class was going on at the same time. No, of course not. Different days, different attendees, different teachers.

Simhachalam

For Australian families: Wait until Friday and do your grocery shopping at Cole's.

Coles has contributed food and other assistance to authorities co-ordinating relief efforts in affected areas and will donate this Friday's profits from its 750 stores nationally to the Victoria bushfires appeal.

from news.com.au

One of the most essential qualities which must be developed in the hearts of those who are serious about perfecting the science of bhakti is the quality of patience. We have to be patient in terms of our personal progress and in terms of other's acceptance of Krishna consciousness as well. Just as we cannot expect ourselves to become immediately fully...

Thursday, 8th Jan, 2009. I awoke in good time. Breakfast time! We honoured an ecstatic breaky with a serious side of mango milk shake. Actually I think the meal was the side for the mango milk shake in my case. I was so intoxicated with mango milk shake that I didn’t even realise it was ekodasi. After breakfast our mother from our house we were staying brought up my diary. “Prabhu I really like your diary but you need too…” “Edit it right? So I have been told.” “Yes well there are no paragraphs.” “Excuse me? Where are you reading my diaries?” “Planet ISKCON Prabhu.”

I had only just found out the day before that people were reading my crazy diary now all over the world but now I have found that they are reading it in a crazy block. It was like 9 inch square chunk of ladu. Normally this would concern me but on tour there is no time for concern, only for eating such ladus. There is also concern if I am spelling ladu correctly.

So we were off. And it was a rush. Domo was out and communicating by a mobile device. He was asking for his “shirt”. I was struggling (as per usual) to locate this object of his. In the end it was a sure sign that we were missing Vana from Polish Tour. Vana would translate Domo to me and Me to Domo. Domo was actually after his “shoes” not “shirt”. Ki jai. After a lot of time wasted Domo got his maha lotus shoes.

Next step was the drop off. We went to our hall in local Brisbane City. I dropped the parachute troopers and I was sent in….that direction?…to find parking. What parking? No parking on this street? Or the next block? Or the next main road? Or the next suburb? I decided to drive back to the hall, talk to a security guard and park in the back parking lot. The only price was to greet the guard lady every time I saw her, talk aimlessly about my car still being parked there and all these formalities.

I ran and hid in the foyer. I had not had enough ladu to deal with this day. In fact I had had no ladu. Where is the ladu? Me and Mathura, who also hadn’t had access to ladus, were browsing around the book table (make that 2 tables!) trying to rest and be busy at the same time (does anyone know how to do that yet?). Domo changed the plans and we went for a drive. We drove a little further than I did looking for parks. The traffic had to wait for Domo to get his chips. We had something safety tagged and the man wrote me out a receipt while chewing down his meat sandwich. Ki Jai!

There was no time to sit around. Well there was after we went for a walk to get a can of spray. It would have helped that I had an ID (you need ID in Australia to purchase drugs, knives, pray paint and small children). In the end my honest look of complete forgetfulness got me through. I found myself minding the hall/using my laptop while everyone went for lunch. An official came in to tell me a lot of useless information about fire alarms, venue capacity and all other things that are only useful to save human lives. She was very worried that someone might light incense or ghee lamps but I reassured her that we would behave and pretend we weren’t crazy cultists from the future.

Upon returning Sadhu had epic tails of Srikan and I knew I had broken the first rule of the tour commandment. Thou shalt make lunch on time. I went to Govindas by foot but it was too late. I arrived as some mothers downed the last litres of srikan. It is always interesting that people tend to go up a sari size on ekodasi when it’s quite clearly about eating raw food and becoming emaciated. There was some attempt at apology but I was not insulted…as long as I found a convenience store and got myself some kettle chips. The real reason Krsna made ekodasi was to keep kettle in business till the next satya yuga.

Govindas was good for a few other things besides prasad honouring in the end. We took a photo of someone who fell asleep and I got to catch up with Mothers Jambavati and Carmella who had made their way up from Syd to get back into tour. I led the army to the hall armed with my mighty bag of chips. I showed them the quick and painless way to the hall. Upon heading back out I found mother Rajesvari diddle dawdling far behind. She had gone back for some prasad for me! I was touched.

I decided to reward her with a guided tour of the hall before I honoured the whole bucket by myself. By guided I meant I felt like seeing if I could actually find the hall from the front entrance rather than going in the back way. It was a lot of running around up and down stairs and a sneak peak of some other halls in the building. In the end we submitted and asked someone directions. What a party poop.

Mmmmmm potato. Ekodasi is the one day that people make potato taste good. It is must as it’s the closest thing that resembles food besides various traditional cheeses. Just after potatoes I got my first gist of the locals. I caught up with Vishnu from New Govardhana back stage. Our conversation was cut short when I was asked to escort Gurudeva into the foyer of the show. I am still unsure why I am asked to take people anywhere but it happened.

Before mentioning the likelihood of normally getting lost I will mention the circumstances. There are four entrances to the building, each had a lobby that is identical, I don’t like reading signs and there is renovations on the floor beneath the show. So where are we? Fortunately Maharaja was to transcendental to realise how totally confused I was but I think it was some excitement for him. Mission successful in the end.

I bumped into Shyam from New Gokul in the foyer. I think he’s stalking me. I rushed off to save the catching up for later. It was play time. There was an impressive light show. We had some extra lighting courtesy the local venue. It was epilepticly exquisite. I took some time after the show to reset my eyes in our immaculate changing rooms. Indradyumna Swami returned. He was feeling a little nervous before the speech. This was one of those intimate moments you only get on tour (and then blab it to everyone on my diary). I spotted a small dab of tilak on his cheek and brushed it off for him.

Before I knew it I ended up back on stage. I was setting up maharaja’s seat…and water too. When things go crazy I am used as a back. Fortunately the norm didn’t happen and it didn’t go crazy. For once I did something right. In other word, Krsna had his hand in this one.

After the show there was an epic book session. Our double table was buzzing double time. We sliced off 22 Cds from our collection. There were many asks where our local centre was. There was one lady from England. She was deciding which book would suit her. I was pushing the Gita until I realized it made no difference. She pulled the usual line “can I get this at your centre where I live?” except she was talking about the Manor in England. She purchased the SSR for travel purpose and purchased Chant and Be Happy for Gaura to autograph (for his performance of Krsna). She had Indradyumna Swami sign her other book and told the guys she was going to buy Gita when she got home. Gaura invited her to come to the parikrama Kartika in Vrindavan.

I caught up with Shyam and Nandini after the book table buzzed a little quieter. Just at the end Maha Mantra rocked onto the scene. He was talking to Dina Dayal and both of them were looking to go to Mayapur for Gaurapurnim. I was excited as I was booked to be there also. There were to be a few boys to make trouble with this year it seemed.

We had a grand ekodasi feast up late to celebrate. We scuttled our ways into our vehicles and headed home. It would normally be a short drive but we found our way around epic detours as the main road was totally blocked off for some night work. We powered home with some good memories of the show. There were lovely devotees and lovely devotees to come from one of our more spectacular shows. We were set to do something rare in tour routine also. That was sleep before the next day officially started. It was an early night for the introspective sages and plenty of thoughts of upcoming ecstasies. I don’t think ladu is for ekodasi after all.

Someone challenged. "I say we have evolved from monkeys." to which Srila Prabhupada countered." Where is the the question of evolution? I say you are still monkeys." (Monkey mentality)

Up to 300 people are dead in the worst bush fires in Australia's European history. The fires continue to burn in the state of Victoria. Entire towns have been wiped off the map. In one town up to 20% of the inhabitants have perished. Firefighters are coming into the state from as far away as New Zealand to fight the fires.

Day time temperatures in the region have reached 47 degrees Celsius. At night they plunge to as low as 7 degrees.

Here is a photo from the fire zone. Koalas are generally very shy creatures and do not interact with humans. They also obtain their liquids by eating eucalyptus leaves and rarely drink water.

The CFA is the Country Fire Authority [website], responsible for the full-time and volunteer fire brigades in the rural areas of the state of Victoria.

The song "Gurvastakam" by Visvanath Chakravarti Thakura describes material existence itself as a blazing forest fire - samsara davanala-lidha-loka. Since material existence is all we have experience of we discriminate between good and bad experiences and states of being within it. Visvanatha describes them all, however, as minute gradations of the same bad - he compares it to a salt mine where everything tastes like salt. Similarly all situations in the material world, whether considered good or bad in mundane terms, are unfavorable in absolute terms. Just like our Koala friend here. We could say that this picture is good or nice, but when you look at the overall situation that they are in, it's pretty much all bad right now.

Another example is being waterboarded at Guantanamo bay - when they let your head out of the bucket and let you breathe you experience that as "good" - but is it really? It's quite relative.

So Visvanatha, and the wider Vedic tradition, claim that life in this body, experienced as the interaction of the senses of the body with the objects of the senses, may be considered relatively good or bad, but it is absolutely bad, compared to another, as-yet unexperienced reality. They also offer a process to be able to experience that other reality directly, in this lifetime (pratyaksavagamam dharmyam). I can't say that I've experienced more than a glimpse of it, but I can say that the idea and their explanation of it is sufficiently intriguing and superficially credible, and my own experience so far sufficiently encouraging to keep me pursuing it.

As Srila B.R. Sridhara Maharaja put it: "I won't be so bold as to say that I've seen God, but I've seen signs along the way and I am encouraged."

How many words of text on web pages do you think will be read this year in the US and other first-world countries with similar Internet penetration? How do you think that compares with the number of words that will be read from books in the same time period by those same people?

-
The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age

1966 February 10: "His Divine Grace Srila Prabhupada's advent ceremony. The following letters delivered personally at the respective offices: New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York News Daily and Sunday."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1970 February 10: "Your attitude of humbleness and meekness in the service is the only qualification which can lead us to upper grade of Krishna Consciousness, and this is the version of Lord Caitanya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 February 10: "If there are any defects within our Society it is only symptom that the instructions of the Spiritual Master are being neglected."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

• Durván esik a hó… #

Last Saturday was the most glorious appearance day of Lord Nityananda. Lord Nityananda is the personification of mercy and as such his appearance day rained mercy upon one and all! That rain visibly appeared during the abhishek when various substances were poured upon Nitai. Buckets upon buckets of various ingredients were poured upon Nitai as he smilingly accepted everything. From yogurt to colored water, coconut water to freshly squeezed grape juice, Nitai looked resplendent no matter what was covering him.

Dear Readers

I am sorry I have not been able to update the walking adventure, there is a good reason. For the time being my walking has come to a halt and I am confined to a hospital bed in Burlington. I received an infection on the right foot after an encounter with a catfish. I am spending time to heal the foot.

As I am looking out the window of the hospital room overlooking Lake Ontario, it's a beautiful scene, there are geese that fly by my window and below I can see a park. I can see the home of the famous historian Joseph Brant. I can see people walking and I envy them somewhat. How we take our feet for granted.

The foot is somewhat painful but I will get through it by God's grace. I have not logged any kilometres since last Wednesday when I was in Guyana on the beach. I only hobble to the toilet. That's the only walking I do. But certainly increasing Mantra Meditation. If you have time a little prayer for my recovery will be much appreciated.

Your servant,
Bhaktimarga Swami

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.11 - We should not have high hopes in the material world.

Srila Prabhupada once told this to Hamsadutta Prabhu, who told it to Manidhar Prabhu, who relayed it to me.

Every occasion is an opportunity to glorify Krishna. Today happens to be the starting of the fiftieth year of marriage of my parents. The golden Jubilee year. Interestingly, i was reading the meaning of Jubilee and came across this on the Webster's dictionary. Though it means a special anniversary, this one struck as a more apt meaning especially when in reference to marriage anniversary :"A

If you take Gita Coaching seriously, it can bring you from hopelessness to an unbreakable enthusiasm and determination.

Thus the wise living entity’s pure consciousness becomes covered by his eternal enemy in the form of lust, which is never satisfied and which burns like fire.   PURPORT It is said in the Manu-smrti that lust cannot be satisfied by any amount of sense enjoyment, just as fire is never extinguished by a constant supply of fuel. [...]

12 Feb 09: New Video!As the festival is getting closer, we can see many happy faces blissfully walking in Mayapur. Bhaktin Camila from Chile, visiting Mayapur for the first time in her life was happy to share her experiences with us. In an interview to mayapur.com ,she expressed that, “When I took the darshan of Pancha-Tattva on Nityananda Trayodasi day, my hair was standing on its end.It was a like a dream coming true for us. Everything is amazing here in Mayapur”.

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ys

Rasa Rasika das

1973 February 10 : "We must not lower our position but we must educate others to come up to our standards. "
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 February 10 : "Each GBC man can act as my secretary for one month at a time as I originally planned. In this way you will all be trained up nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 February 10 : "The women must be protected and it is the duty of the leaders of our Society to see that this is carried out."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973