I am currently taking a class at BYU on the humanities in Asia and I would like to write a paper about the Shiva Ratri holiday. Would you please give me more information about the history and symbolism of the holiday? I have read the information provided on the website, but would like more, if possible.

Doctor Doctor,I swallowed a pillCure my cold I thought it willThree times a day was my dosageNow my nose is like a big sausage. Sitting in the crowded doctor's office in Bangalore, delirious with high fever, this rhyme pasted on the wall there, instantly brought a smile to my face. This rhyme sums up the effects of self medication in a light way. From a philosophical angle, it is a reminder of

‘The characteristics of Krsna are understood to be a storehouse of transcendental love. Although that storehouse of love certainly came with Krsna when He was present, it was sealed. But when Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came with His associates of the Panca-tattva, they broke the seal and plundered the storehouse to taste transcendental love of Krsna. The more they tasted it, the more their thirst for it grew.’

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Unfortunately it looks like it's on again in Kaz...

The Kazakhstan Society of Krishna Consciousness must vacate its property by February 28, according to a letter sent to them by the Kazakh authorities. Society Chairwoman Galinna Glouz told RFE/RL's Kazakh Service that the government offered to relocate the group to a location she described as a "dumpsite."

Deputy Governor Serik Mukanov said the organization was offered an acceptable alternative location by officials, which it accepted and then turned down at the last minute. Last month, an American representing the Hare Krishnas was deported from Kazakhstan after landing at the Almaty airport, even though he had a valid visa.

The Kazakh government has been in conflict with the Hare Krishna community since last fall, when Almaty Oblast officials decided to demolish houses belonging to Krishna followers living on Almaty's outskirts.

This week's Sunday Feast featured Siva-Ratri Celebrations with HH Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das. The recording of the webcast can be viewed by clicking the image below.

1968 February 25: "My Guru Maharaja wanted this Krishna Consciousness spread all over the Western countries especially, and now in my old age, I am leaving this great responsibility in the hands of all of you, my students."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 February 25: "There is no evidence in the Vedic literatures that a common, unintelligent person by worshipping the demigoddess Kali can become an incarnation of Godhead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 February 25: "So we shall save you from the draft. If you stick to the study of our books and continue as a preacher, there will be no difficulty for you to get 4-D classification."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 Febuary 25: "I shall be glad to give him so many themes. If George Harrison can compose such songs in his own words, and sings, I am sure it will be an epoch making event."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 February 25: "If George wants to invite famous people from all over the world to come there and get Krsna Consciousness, we shall cooperate with him with full vigor."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 February 25: "This art of dancing, as any art, can be employed in the service of glorifying the Supreme Lord. If she is expert dancer, she can organize a dancing group to depict very exquisitely stories from our Krishna Book."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 25: "As for your training in theology, if you simply present some of the popular western points of view of theology and then point by point expose them as speculators, then that will be a very nice service."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1968 February 25: "His heart is so soft, as soft as a good mother's. In Bombay sometimes we lived together and he used to treat my little sons very kindly. I always remember him and shall continue to do so."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

Manohara dasa: Radhadesh Administrative Council is looking for department head of Radhadesh Guesthouse. Preference will be given to those who have experience with serving devotees and/or living in community, managerial experience, communications skills and basic book keeping.

Dear devotees,

Please accept my blessings. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.

Last night we finished the GBC meetings, and in a couple of days we start the Navadvipa Mandala Parikrama. I haven’t been on it for at least 10 years, and I’m looking forward to it very much.

The meetings were basically nice, although as usual they were somewhat grueling. To sit there for more than ten days and discuss all sorts of often controversial and difficult subjects is quite a challenge, but for Srila
Prabhupada we have to be ready to do things like that.

A number of devotees have been approved for taking sannyasa this year, including the well known South African devotee Brhat Mrdanga prabhu, and Jaya Govinda from Botswana. Altogether 6 devotees were approved for taking sannyasa, which is always something very exciting for the movement.

Another lady was elected to the GBC Body, Dina Sharana devi dasi from Germany, a disciple of Srila Prabhupada. To date the only lady GBC has been Malati devi dasi one of Srila Prabhupada’s most senior disciples from America. It has also been confirmed that ladies can become gurus, which is something that many devotees have been waiting for for some years.

An interesting subject that was discussed was about chanting the name of Srimati Radharani in kirtana. There are a small number of devotees in different parts of the world who sometimes really get into chanting “Radhe Radhe” or Jaya Radhe, Jaya Radhe, Jaya Radhe, Jaya Sri Radhe” and variations on these themes on a regular basis, and some devotees argue that this is something that Srila Prabhupada did not approve of. Certainly if it is done in a frivolous way, or if it is done too much, that cannor be right.

There was a disciple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami, one of the 6 Goswamis of Vrindavana, named Hit Harivamsa who is said to have really gone too far in focusing on Srimati Radharani, and as a result he became excommunicated from our Gaudiya sampradaya. He refused to chant Hare Krishna, or particularly to mention the name of Krishna, and would only chant the name of Srimati Radharani. He would not observe ekadasi, and would not observe Krishna Janmastami, but rather only observed Radhastami. Indeed he did not even like to hear the name of Lord Krishna. As a result, it is said that he was declared to be unqualified and was rejected by the Gaudiya Vaisnavas in general.

So there’s no doubt it’s possible to go overboard in this regard. However, of course, Srimati Radharani is our worshipable Deity, and to ignore Her altogether could hardly be right, and as a result a considerable controversy has developed over the past couple of years.

Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati concludes his Vrindavana Dhama Mahimamrita by glorifying Srimati Radharani’s name: “Vrndavana! Forest filled with the sweetest nectar! Forest that contains the great treasure of spiritual love! Witness of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna’s amorous pastimes! Forest so dear to me! Master of the rasa-dance! Enchanter of the worlds! Wonderful with flowering vines, birds, and a host of beautiful creatures! O beautiful Vrndavana far beyond the world of matter, you are the goal of my life. You are my goal.

“Obeisances to the beautiful couple that stays in Vrndavana. Obeisances to the beautiful couple that wanders in Vrndavana. Obeisances to the beautiful couple that is the life of Vrndavana. Obeisances to the hero and heroine of Vrndavana. Obeisances to the beautiful couple that is merciful to Vrndavana. Obeisances to the beautiful couple that is the transcendental nectar of Vrndavana. Obeisances to the beautiful couple that is the perfection of Vrndavana.

“No place is more exalted than Vrndavana forest. No person is more lowly than me. It is only by the power of Sri Radha’s holy name that these two have met. May the all-wonderful, limitlessly powerful, and supremely
auspicious holy name of Vrndavana’s queen once be glorious in my mouth.”

Actually I don’t know what the result of the vote on the subject was, but from the discussions that took place, and the preliminary voting that happened, it seemed that some type of middle ground would be sought

Perhaps the most enlivening thing was the return of Jayapataka Maharaja to Mayapur for the first time since he suffered his stroke on October 23rd last year. The stroke was so severe that a devotee doctor reported that “normally the survival rate for such a stroke is zero”. However, they reckoned without the amazing determination of Jayapataka Maharaja, plus the mercy of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, who Maharaja has completely dedicated his life to.

Maharaja returned on the evening of February 20th, flying from Mumbai to Calcutta in the morning, and then coming slowly out in an ambulance to Mayapur. From Calcutta airport to Mayapur is only about 130kms, but a lot of the road is in such a disastrous condition that it takes 3 to 4 hours to make the trip, and because of Maharaja’s condition it took him much longer to arrive.

Maharaja transferred to a car at the Jagannatha temple and then came to Sri Mayapur Candrodaya Mandir. It was early evening, probably around 6pm and all the devotees were gathered from the main entrance down to the temple room. I was with the other GBC members waiting closer to the temple entrance.

We knew that Maharaja had pulled in when the elephant came down the driveway, surrounded by hundreds of devotees. Maharaja’s car was immediately behind, and pulled up close to the courtyard in front of the temple. He was sitting in the front seat, on the left, and Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja opened his door, and some of the GBC members came forward to greet him.

I also came forward and embraced him as he sat in the car. I told him “I’m so happy to see you!” as I hugged him for a little while, and he responded “I’m really happy to see you too.”

It was a very moving experience.

Then he was taken out of the car and put in a wheelchair which was then brought into the temple room. By this time most of the devotees were quite overwhelmed and were pushing to get as close to him as possible, while his personal team tried to keep them back.

I went into the temple room with Prahladananda Maharaja in front of Maharaja and waited for him to come. There was a seething mass of devotees all around him, coming closer to us, and I turned to Prahladananda Maharaja and told him: “in a few seconds we’re going to get crushed!”

Sure enough we were unceremoniously picked up by the swelling mass of devotees and thrown to the side, completely scrunched together with dozens of other devotees.

Maharaja had darsana of Srila Prabhupada, Panca Tattva, and then went onto the platform in front of Radha Madhava. The temple room was pretty chaotic with so many devotees and guests pushing and shoving, and one devotee on the platform started shouting “sit down! Sit down! Sit down!” repeatedly, which hardly anyone seemed to take notice of. Maharaja then spoke from in front of Radha and Madhava. Because of his condition he has difficulty pronouncing words clearly, although his mind is as crystal clear as always, and as a result he had a devotee repeat what he said, to make sure we understood.

Then every day Maharaja would come into the GBC meeting and make some comments on the different subjects we were discussing. One of the days he gave every one in the meeting a gift pack of Nrsinga oil, Ganges water, a gamcha, tilaka and other items.

On the 23rd Maharaja gave Srimad Bhagavatam class and as he began he asked “do we need repetition?” meaning having the devotee say again what he has said. All the devotees shouted out “no!” and Maharaja proceeded to give a very nice Srimad Bhagavatam class on his own.

I have included some photos from Mayapur with this report.

So now we will go on the parikrama, and I will write again after that.

Hoping this meets you well.

Your servant,

Bhakti Caitanya Swami

By Mayapur.tv

Emotional scenes and tumultous crowds greet His Holiness Jayaptaka Swami on his return - watch them in hi-res quality video. In Part 2 he addresses a packed assembly of vaishnavas in the Mandir, and tells of the miracle of his recovery and his gratitude for the prayers of the devotees.

Dravida dasa: Early on the morning of Monday, February 23, Rucirangada Dasi succumbed after a long battle with cancer and passed away peacefully at her brother's home in San Diego.

Tamal Krsna dasa: "The Most Sinful Activity" by HDG ACBS Prabhupada, "Humility with Determination" by Bhakti Tirtha Maharaja, "Devotee Spotlight" by Giri-govardhana dasa, "Envy: The Original Sin" by Rupa-vilasa dasa

Our Tuesday program here at The Sanctuary in Manhattan in hitting the city airwaves!

Click here to head over to ISKCON News to read all about it!

Payonidhi das: dear Vaisnavas Please accept my humble obaisences All glories to Srila Prabhupada In our stage of Bhakti it is very essential to attend mangal artik or perform it in our own home if we live outside the temple.

By Deena Bandhu dasa

On Sunday we had the ecstatic grand finale of the 6th anniversary of Vrinda Kunda Temple. All the devotees gathered beside Pavana Sarovar and after a nice hot breakfast of kichari, we began the preparations for the famous Kalash Yatra.

As long as one does not inquire about the spiritual values of life, one is defeated and subjected to miseries arising from ignorance. Be it sinful or pious, karma has its resultant actions. If a person is engaged in any kind of karma, his mind is called karmâtmaka, colored with fruitive activity. As long as the mind is impure, consciousness is unclear, and as long as one is absorbed in fruitive activity, he has to accept a material body.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 5 Verse 5

Bhakta April played whompers and the kirtan soon soared to its peak with the devotees dancing ecstatically. Later he was throughly elated when Nrsimhananda Prabhu gifted him with a new mrdanga. Here in Africa beat is in the blood! At the end of the kirtan everyone is wet and blissed out.

Development during the Year 2008

Bangalore Bhakti-vriksha Yatra follows the Bhakti-vriksha method of preaching to spread Krishna Consciousness. By the causeless mercy of Guru and Gauranga, this year we could attract lots of new people to devotional service under the ISKCON umbrella; this brought about advancement in the existing members' spiritual lives, too. Everyone is enthusiastic, inspired and we could witness a steady growth all around.

Following are some of the factors in the Yatra's growth:

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The scientific world tends to praise the human genome project (the mapping of human DNA configuration), cloning of animals and genetically modified organisms, including seeds for food plants.

The genetic mapping or genetic code for a banyan is certainly to be found in the seed of such a tree. Now science can predict from the genes of tree seed, what the tree will look like. But it cannot explain why the seed should transform into a tree.

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This is fifteen year old Bhaktin Rasalila who said she throughly enjoyed her sleepover.

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur formed a group and named it the August Assembly - he formed the Cirakumara Sabha or the August Assembly amongst his friends with whom he met regularly at Calcutta's Beadon Square. There they used to discuss topics related to religion, and the members were required to take a vow of celibacy. The Society was formed with the purpose of giving people a chance to remain seriously engaged in worship of the Lord and detached from family life. But Bimala Prasad was the only one who observed his vows immaculately.

We strive to reach out to newsouls and introduce the on the path of Bhakti. This blog will report on such activities. As lectures/preachers at Bhaktivedanta College of Education and Culture for the last 15 years we have had by Krsna's mercy many new souls come and have their lives transformed.

After advertising for new students via email, posters and radio shows we hold an open day were Nrsimhananda Prabhu does a vibrant presentation and normally this results in the students coming back and sometimes with new friends or family members.

Thus far majority of the students stay and become initiated members of the Iskcon Society voluntarily. The preaching entails a Bhakti Sadhacara course consisting of Science of Self Realisation, then Vaisnava Ettiquette and thereafter Spiritual Master and Disciple. This is done in the first year. So this blog will serve to broadcast the preaching strengths to inspire others who have the common motive in life.

H H Radhanath Swami kiran =)

Just a reminder that I'm appearing on next week's episode of The Cook and The Chef, screened on Australia's ABC1 TV network Wednesday 4 March at 6.30pm. It's repeated Saturday at 11.30 am.

It can also be downloaded from the website.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.32-35 - The transcendental nature of Krsna's appearance & disappearance.

In this world we are motivated to action by our dreams of what we would like to achieve. But the difficulty is that when our dreams come true we are still not satisfied. That thing which we considered would be such a glorious achievement, when we attain it we disappointedly discover that is has lost its grandeur. In this way we are defeated again and...

Welcome to Sri Sri Panca-Tattva Maha Abhisheka 2009 !!!

Here we will report live on happennings during the Maha Abhisheka. Please stay tuned in. To see updated information you have to reload page time to time.

You can also watch Live video streaming or if your connection speed is not so fast, then on our live webcams. Also you can listen live audio broadcast directly from temple.

Since the internet speed inside the temple is a bit slow, it may take a few longer for us to send updates.

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French Government Tells People to Stop Consuming Wine

To the anger of the wine industry and disbelief of lovers of a good drop worldwide, the French Government has told its people to stop drinking wine.

The French Health Ministry has made alcohol one of the chief villains in a drive against cancer. "The consumption of alcohol, and especially wine, is discouraged," say guidelines drawn from the findings of the National Cancer Institute. Read the whole article...

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours discussing evolutionary biology with one of my science advisers (as you do). There were moments where the hair on my body stood on end as I caught glimpses of the Universal Form and the intelligence behind it. Here are some highlights:

We started off discussing the Cambrian explosion [wikipedia]. Around 530 million years some interpretations of the fossil record tell of a sudden (in geological terms) explosion of life forms, with a large number of species of complex animals appearing in a short space of time.

Shiva das brought this up as an example of a weak point in the evolution narrative, so I was interested to hear how a devotee of that narrative understands this point. Here's an explanation from inside the tradition. I'm going to synthesize parts of the conversation into a single flow here:

It appears that life, once it starts, really takes off fast. Not only at this point, but at various extinction points throughout history, the empty niches are quickly filled up by life form that adapt to fill them. Life is persistent, and pervasive. [my note: "living entities are sarva-gatah"]

Where do these pre-existing niches come from? They arise from the geology and environmental conditions of our planet.

Initially the life forms on Earth were anaerobic - they relied on an atmosphere without oxygen. One of these organisms excreted oxygen as a waste product. It was so efficient that the oxygen production killed the anaerobic life, and only those forms that could respire aerobically survived, to bring us the life forms we see today.

Anaerobic life was forced to find environments and niches where they could survive, so they retreated to the ocean floors around vents. Extremophiles [wikipedia] demonstrate that life can exist in conditions very unlike the ones we commonly think of as necessary for life. [my note: Prabhupada's point about life on every planet, and living entities having bodies adapted to local environmental conditions]

On the question of single celled organisms becoming multi-celled organisms, another science adviser said:

Some bacteria will clump up together in a colony [wikipedia] in a situation of environmental adversity or food shortage. All it takes is for this to be more efficient than staying apart, for the behaviour to become routine, and over time for cells to take on more specialised roles in the colony, and you have a multi-cellular organism

I had a discussion with one adviser about the concept of ahamkara, or the "I-forming energy". What is it that causes multiple cells to conceive of themselves as a single biological unit, distinct from other biological units? This is not well understood by empirical science, but the Vedic narrative contains the idea of the ahamkara.

One manifestation of this is the immune system, specialized cells whose job it is to identify cells who are not responding to the direction of the same ahamkara, "I-forming energy" as the rest of the cells in the body, and eliminate them.

The ahamkara is the most subtle material manifestation. Each cell in the human body has it's own ahamkara. Each cell is its own body, its own living entity. Yet somehow all of the cells are marshalled by the direction of one predominating ahamkara. That would be me, in my case. :-)

I'm changing "Life from chemicals" to "Consciousness from chemicals", btw.

Here's another point that made my hair stand on end:

From single-celled organisms to human beings is billions of years. In all that time spirit-souls are transmigrating between different bodies (brahmanda-bhramite), with no opportunity for self-realization. Do you realize just how rare this human form of life, with its capacity for self-realization is?

After some time our conversation turned to religious traditions, and began to touch on metaphysics. At that moment I asked my friend: "What evolutionary value does this conversation have? How has evolution come to this point?"

He replied: "Some people say that consciousness is the universe experiencing itself."

There are two things at work in the universe: matter and spirit. When spirit comes into contact with matter, the symptoms of life are manifested. Proteins and enzymes begin to act as little machines. Elements begin to organise into complex arrangements and assemble into still more and more complex arrangements.

The Lord is so powerful, and so intelligent, that by creating initial conditions, such as time and space with their intrinsic properties (dharma) that give rise to physics, then chemistry, then biology, he can create human beings. Now that is *real* lazy intelligence - parasya shaktir vividhaiva sruyate, jnana bala kriya ca. His multifarious energies are working automatically and material nature is producing all bodies - karya karana kartrve hetuh praktir ucyate.

Just like when Lord Varaha came from Lord Brahma's nose and looked like a little fly, and the sages wondered what he was, and then he grew to the form of a huge boar, similarly the universe comes out from the pores of Mahavishnu's body, then expands. Then a single-celled organism assembles, then complexity increases until a human being is assembled, self aware and ready to inquire into absolute truth: athato brahma jijnasa. Having experienced billions of births in every conceivable species, tasting all different experiences of life, finally he is ready to receive information of the world beyond the veil of maya.

Complexity in the universe increases against the law of entropy through contact with spirit, the organising intelligence. As my spirit is the organising intelligence of this particular body, the Supreme spirit is the organising intelligence of the universal body. Who is so intelligent that simply by creating the initial conditions, billions of years later all this will be apparent? That's real finesse. [Conway's Game of Life is a small demonstration of how this works]

Our scientific explorations reveal more and more the depths of the glory of God.

After the cupcake drop-off we loaded our people into three two cars and one minivan and made the trip out to St. Augustine. The weather was fair. Could have been warmer but it was in the 70's so I can't really complain. It is February, after all. While the air was balmy, it was also sandy!

1970 February 24: "I have full sanction for this marriage and you can perform the ceremony on my behalf. Under your care they will be trained as good husband and wife, and following your example, be happy in this life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 February 24: "Krishna is there in your heart and the more you surrender to Him, the more He takes charge, and seeing your sincerity, He will give you all facility for increasing your service more and more."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 February 24: "We want to influence these misguided college students. And if we can establish a seat here these students may take their doctorate degree in Krishna Consciousness and go out and preach all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 February 24: "Go on in this way and spend your whole time preaching and engaging others to hear and become themselves engaged in Krishna's service, that will cure you of all misgivings and miserable conditions."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 24: "I have heard the Nobel Institute is in Sweden. Why don't you present them our books? Find out what to do so we can win the Nobel Prize."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1967 February 24: "Today I have sent you the first installment of Narada Bhakti Sutras. Please let me know how you like it. Here there is no typewriter nor any typist. Therefore you have to type the tapes there is no other alternative."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1966 February 24: "Today one young man, Mr. Robert, came from downtown. The Samkirtan record was played. He liked it. Letter from Captain Pandya received. The plumber did not turn up. No expenditure. Income $1.00."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

Here's what Typealyzer, a personality test that analyses a blog, had to say about atmayogi.com's author:

The logical and analytical type. They are especially attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications.

They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come across as arrogant, impatient and insensitive to people that need some time to understand what they are talking about.

Submit your blog URL to http://typealyzer.com and post the results to participate in the meme!

Toronto, Ontario

Lorna is my daily nurse. She does the house calls. She comes to see me daily to change my I.V. bag, adjusts its needle and changes the batteries for the device. She also takes my blood pressure. After checking she said, "You're as fit as a teenager." When poking into a vein she noted the blood runs profusely and was having a hard time catching its trail as it took her by surprise.
"It's for pilgrimage sake - meeting people, encouraging each other and growing internally." I said,
"Is it like that Santiago walk in Spain where people go, they walk and come back a different person?" asked Lorna.
"Yes," I said, "the same idea. These long pilgrimages impact your life to the point of transformation."
With job done today, Lorna left the building, the temple where I stay, carrying a colourful garland of fresh flowers from the deity of Krishna. Each day Lorna leaves the temple with her curiosity satisfied in a small new dose. She rather likes the vibes of the temple . When she pulls off the adhesive tape that fixates the intravenous tube to the arm she expects a scream of agony. Not once has she heard the four letter swear word like from many of her patients. I mentioned to her, "I'm a monk. Here we learn to control our tongue." She was relieved.

This past weekend, devotees at ISKCON Toronto got a flavour of what it must be like to chant, dance and joyfully take part in the annual festivals which HH Indradyumna Swami is famous for!  Like a spiritual tornado, Indradyumna Swami and HG Sri Prahlad das flew into Toronto and brought amazing kirtan, electric discourses and an atmosphere of jubilance!

Sometimes we are accused that we're escaping labor, we are parasites, we are dependent on the society. We are not dependent on the society; we are dependent on Krsna. Yoga-ksemam vahamy aham [Bg. 9.22]. Krsna is supplying us this nice building, nice food, nice opportunity. Not only one -- we have got hundreds of buildings like that, without any labor. We are not working like these laborers. Just see. I went to your country with forty rupees, and now I have got forty crores of worth, property. So I did not work like them. (laughs) Yes. The people are bringing money. Krsna is sending money, daily one to five lakhs of rupees. So this is Krsna consciousness. Why one should work? Nayam deho deha-bhajam nrloke kastan kaman arhate vid-bhujam ye [SB 5.5.1]. Vid-bhujam, the stool-eaters, they will work hard. Human life is not meant for... Take Krsna's shelter. Krsna will supply everything.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.9.16 -- Mayapur, February 23, 1976

In a recent discussion somebody posed an interesting question: "How can you be sure of the integrity and antiquity of the Bhagavad-gita? Could it not be a man-made scripture?"

From historical linguistics we can tell that ancient Sanskrit texts are very old. We know they are not man-made by the subtleties and nuances of the conversations and descriptions. It would be impossible to cover such large topics, in great detail over many many books, and still remain consistent and comprehensible. It just wouldn't be possible according to the capacity of the human brain.

But that still doesn't prove much. The ultimate proof is in the spiritual science the Gita outlines. There is a certain hypothesis about life, a process by which one can directly perceive such truths... and hopefully an observation where one actually experiences it. Whereas some spiritual paths seem to culminate in faith - the Gita starts with faith, and then moves onto higher dimensional science.

Yesterday being Siva ratri, I was trying to follow HH Mahanidhi Swami's words by painting the canvas of my mind with pastimes of Lord Shiva. Hearing the pastimes of Aasheshwar Mahadev in Vrindavan,I was trying to tune into the message in it for me. Maharaj kept reiterating about how the devotee of the Lord, in this case Lord Siva, has hope against hope or 'Ashabandha.' Though considering himself

By Gopijan ballab das

Watch Sri Sri Pancha-Tattva Maha Abhisheka LIVE from Sri Mayapur. Maha Abhisheka will begin at 8am (IST) on 25th February and will continue till noon.

Hari bol Prabhus,

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

Today begins the Maypur Festival. Thousands of devotees are here by the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada, to take advantage of all the mercy flowing in the Holy Dhama.

Yesterday Jayapataka Maharaja gave the Srimad Bhagavatam class. Everyone was impressed, it was shastric, amusing, and interesting. Last night he also spoke at the Mayapur book distribution awards night inspiring the book distributors, but there he used a translator because it's not that easy to understand him due to his condiction. But at the Srimad Bhagavatam class he was inspired to just speak, and 95% of it was understandable. Everyone was satisfied to see this great general of Lord Caitanya's army still on the front lines. It's hard to keep a good devotee down.

Now here's a sankirtan story for you:

In the beginning of December there was so much important managerial things to do, I was a chairman of our Brahmana council and SKT leader of our small Sofia Bulgaria yatra - and I just began to think what kind of example will I be for others with my few books distributed. On top of that there was WED (world enlightenment day). I thought at least I can invite devotees to participate in that enlivening day, distribute some books myself, and then everyone can have a big feast in the evening.

One particular telephone call was for bhaktin Galya but to my surprise, somehow when I called I found that the Galya I called was another Galya from Varna city -500 km from Sofia! Even though it was the wrong Galya I invited her to WED. Then she said very enthusiastically, "We are 5 families that wants all of Prabhupadas books!" She ordered five full sets of Srimad Bhagavatam, Gitas, Krsna books and a few others. All togerher they purchased 95 maha big books!!! I took a train for 8 ours, delivered the books and returned to Sofia amazed by unlimited mercy of Krishna on me and all others. It was not telephone mistake, there are no mistakes, it was Krsna's arrangement.

Your servant Sthanu das

By Shyamagopika devi dasi

To the vibrant chanting of Garuda Dandakam prayers by Balaji Swami of Tirumala Tirupati, ecstactic harinam and blowing of conch shell & ‘ulu’dvani , the garuda flag was hoisted by HH Jayapataka Swami announcing the inauguration of Gaura Purnima festival 2009.

Hari bol Prabhus,

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

Today begins the Maypur Festival. Thousands of devotees are here by the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada, to take advantage of all the mercy flowing in the Holy Dhama.

Yesterday Jayapataka Maharaja gave the Srimad Bhagavatam class. Everyone was impressed, it was shastric, amusing, and interesting. Last night he also spoke at the Mayapur book distribution awards night inspiring the book distributors, but there he used a translator because it's not that easy to understand him due to his condiction. But at the Srimad Bhagavatam class he was inspired to just speak, and 95% of it was understandable. Everyone was satisfied to see this great general of Lord Caitanya's army still on the front lines. It's hard to keep a good devotee down.

Now here's a sankirtan story for you:

In the beginning of December there was so much important managerial things to do, I was a chairman of our Brahmana council and SKT leader of our small Sofia Bulgaria yatra - and I just began to think what kind of example will I be for others with my few books distributed. On top of that there was WED (world enlightenment day). I thought at least I can invite devotees to participate in that enlivening day, distribute some books myself, and then everyone can have a big feast in the evening.

One particular telephone call was for bhaktin Galya but to my surprise, somehow when I called I found that the Galya I called was another Galya from Varna city -500 km from Sofia! Even though it was the wrong Galya I invited her to WED. Then she said very enthusiastically, "We are 5 families that wants all of Prabhupadas books!" She ordered five full sets of Srimad Bhagavatam, Gitas, Krsna books and a few others. All togerher they purchased 95 maha big books!!! I took a train for 8 ours, delivered the books and returned to Sofia amazed by unlimited mercy of Krishna on me and all others. It was not telephone mistake, there are no mistakes, it was Krsna's arrangement.

Your servant Sthanu das

The potentially confusing statement that "evolution is both a theory and a fact" is often seen in biological literature. This statement arises because "evolution" is used in two ways. First, the "fact of evolution" refers to the observed changes in populations of organisms over time, which are known to have occurred. Second, the "theory of evolution" refers to the modern evolutionary synthesis, which is the current scientific explanation of how these changes occur.

On its own, the word "evolution" often refers to the combination of the underlying facts, and the theory that explains them. However, it is also frequently used to refer to one or the other. Readers should take care to determine an author's meaning.

- Wikipedia, Evolution as theory and fact

Watch Sri Sri Pancha-Tattva Maha Abhisheka LIVE from Sri Mayapur. Maha Abhisheka will begin at 8am (IST) on 25th February and will continue till noon. Live video streamong of Maha Abhisheka will be available from morning 6am onwards — live from Sri Mayapur.

Live Program Schedule is as follows.

• 6:00am to 7:00am: Srimad Bhagavatam Class by HH Sivarama Swami
• 7:00 a.m.: Darshan Arati
• 7:30am: Guru Puja
• 8:00am: Maha Abhiseka begins
• 12:00noon: Bhoga Offering
• 12:30pm: Maha Arati

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To the vibrant chanting of Garuda Dandakam prayers by Balaji Swami of Tirumala Tirupati, ecstatic harinam and blowing of conch shell & ‘ulu’dvani , the Garuda flag was hoisted by HH Jayapataka Swami announcing the inauguration of Gaura Purnima festival 2009. The assembled devotees pronounced sankalpa for the success of the festival. HH Lokanatha Swami, who is attending the Mayapur Festival since 1973, carried the flag on his head to the lotus park.

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1966 February 24: "Today one young man, Mr. Robert, came from downtown. The Samkirtan record was played. He liked it. Letter from Captain Pandya received. The plumber did not turn up. No expenditure. Income $1.00."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 February 24: "Today I have sent you the first installment of Narada Bhakti Sutras. Please let me know how you like it. Here there is no typewriter nor any typist. Therefore you have to type the tapes there is no other alternative."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1970 February 24: "I have full sanction for this marriage and you can perform the ceremony on my behalf. Under your care they will be trained as good husband and wife, and following your example, be happy in this life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 February 24: "Krishna is there in your heart and the more you surrender to Him, the more He takes charge, and seeing your sincerity, He will give you all facility for increasing your service more and more."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 February 24: "We want to influence these misguided college students. And if we can establish a seat here these students may take their doctorate degree in Krishna Consciousness and go out and preach all over the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 February 24: "I have heard the Nobel Institute is in Sweden. Why don't you present them our books? Find out what to do so we can win the Nobel Prize."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 February 24: "Go on in this way and spend your whole time preaching and engaging others to hear and become themselves engaged in Krishna's service, that will cure you of all misgivings and miserable conditions."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

Devotion:

"When the great sage Narada was chanting the glories of the Lord, the bluish line on the neck of Lord Siva disappeared. Upon seeing this, Gauri, the wife of Lord Siva, suspected Lord Siva of being someone else disguised as her husband, and out of fear she immediately left his company."

Krsna Tells Siva to Marry

Siva is not only attracted to hearing Krsna's name, but he is also very attached to chanting it. This fact is illustrated in many different Vedic literatures. The Brahma-vivarta Purana (1.6.4-16) recounts a discussion between Lord Krsna and Lord Siva:

Krsna once summoned Siva, who is famous as the best of the yogis, and told him, "You should accept the goddess who rides a lion as your wife."

Hearing Krsna's words, Siva smiled and meekly replied, "I am unable to accept the goddess of nature, because she will distract my mind from Your devotion and obstruct the path of serving You. She can overshadow true knowledge. She is passionate and can increase one's lusty desires. She can destroy one's austerity. She is the storehouse of illusion. She is the strong base of terrible worldly bondage, and attachment to her leads to evil ways, destroys noble ideas, and diverts one from the noble path.

"O my Lord! I do not wish for a wife. Please give me my desired benediction. My desire to render devotional service to You is always increasing. I am never satiated by chanting Your names and serving Your lotus feet.

tvan-nama panca-vaktrena gunam mangalalayam
svapne jagarane sasvad gayan gayan bhramamy aham

"O my Lord, may I constantly sing Your most auspicious names and qualities with my five mouths, as I wander about in dream or in wakefulness. [12]

akalpa-koti-kotim ca tvad-rupa-dhyana-tat-param
bhogeccha-visaye naiva yoge tapasi man-manah

"Material enjoyment, yoga, and austerities do not appeal to my mind, for I wish to eagerly meditate on Your enchanting form for millions of kalpas. [13]

tvat-sevane pujane ca vandane nama-kirtane
sadollasitam esam ca viratau viratim labhet

"My happiness is uninterrupted while serving You, worshiping You, offering prayers to You, and chanting Your names. But when these activities are finished, my happiness is also finished. [14]

smaranam kirtanam nama-gunayoh sravanam japah
tvac-caru-rupa-dhyanam tvat-padam-evabhivandanam

samarpanam catmanas ca nityam naivedya-bhojanam
varam varesa dehinam navadha-bhakti-laksanam

"O Lord! O giver of benediction! Please bestow on me the nine forms of devotional service so that I may constantly remember Your pastimes, chant and hear Your glories and qualities, meditate on Your attractive form, offer obeisances at Your lotus feet, surrender fully to You, and eat the remnants of Your foodstuffs." [15-16]

Parvati's Vow of Chanting

In the sixth canto, chapter 254, of the Padma Purana, Bhagavan Vyasa recounts how Parvati once appealed to the great sage Vamadeva to initiate her into the worship of Lord Visnu. Thus requested by the goddess, Vamadeva gave her the Visnu-sahasra-nama-stotra. Parvati then began to daily worship Visnu in the morning by chanting the Visnu-sahasra-nama. A few days later, Parvati offered her obeisances to the sage and returned to her abode. There, on a charming peak of Mount Kailasa, Sankara Mahadeva was seated after having worshiped Lord Visnu on the Dvadasi day. Seeing that his wife had returned, he told her, "O goddess worshiped by all the three worlds, come and eat with me."

Parvati replied, "O my lord, you may go ahead. I shall take my meal only after I have completed my chanting of the thousand names of Visnu."

Smiling, Lord Siva said, "O Parvati, you are fortunate and blessed. You are Visnu's devotee. O goddess, without good fortune it is very difficult to obtain devotion to Visnu.

rama rameti rameti rame rame manorame
sahasra-namabhis tulyam rama-nama varanane

"I am reciting, 'Rama,' 'Rama,' 'Rama.' I delight in the name of Rama, which attracts my mind. O woman with a lovely face, Rama's name is equal to the thousand names of Visnu. [20]

ra-karadini namani srnvato mama parvati
manah prasannatam yati rama-namabhisankaya
ramety uktva mahadevi bhunksva-sardham mayadhuna

"'O Parvati, whenever I hear a name that begins with the syllable ra, my mind becomes pleased, expecting it be the name of Rama. O goddess, chant the name of Rama and come and eat with me.' Parvati uttered the holy name of Lord Rama and then took her meal with Sankara." [21]

May our lives be fully devoted to serve Krsna always being engaged in chanting and hearing about the Lord. Another important point here is that we should always finish our vowed rounds satifying first our spiritual master and then Krsna.

Devotees in Mayapur are taking full advantage of the special mercy of being able to render some service to Sri Panca-tattva. Large quantities of sandalwood paste are needed for abhisheka and for the past one week devotees are busy grinding chandan for the Lord. Today all the devotees fetched water from Ganges in a Sankirtan procession to be used for Maha Abhisheka. 10,000 litres of Ganga water, 2000 litres of other ingredients like milk, honey, ghee etc will be used for Abhisheka.

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If you are not physically present in Mayapur, watch our Gaura Purnima festival videos and join with the devotees assembled in Mayapur. Gaura Purnima Festival inauguration, Jala Yatra (procession to Ganga for fetching water for Maha abhisheka) arethe festival videos added. A few videos of HH Jayapataka Swami in Mayapur are posted in you tube. Vaisanavi disciples of Srila Prabhupada shared their wonderful memories with Srila Prabhupada. Vaisnavi Sanga Video is also available.

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When a person considers sense gratification the aim of life, he certainly becomes mad after materialistic living and engages in all kinds of sinful activity. He does not know that due to his past misdeeds he has already received a body which, although temporary, is the cause of his misery. Actually the living entity should not have taken on a material body, but he has been awarded the material body for sense gratification. Therefore it is not befitting an intelligent man to involve himself again in the activities of sense gratification by which he perpetually gets material bodies one after another.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 5 Verse 4

Because Hanumanji is portrayed on the banner of Arjuna, it is understood that Arjuna meditated on him during the battle, even though Lord Krishna Himself is his chariot driver and tactical advisor in the battle of Kuruksetra. This underscores the importance of sadhu in the three-way check and balances system known as 'guru, sastra and sadhu. Lord Krishna in this case is the guru and
Hanuman or Vajrangaji represents the sadhus.

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Original story from Guna Mani Nitai Dasi.
Original photographs from Bhaktin Bernadette.

Kripa Sindhu Dasa - staunchly supported by his wife Ayodhya Rani Devi Dasi - has served as a keystone to our attempt to share Krishna consciousness with Melbourne's Indian student community. However, as his own daughter Rasika nears school age, he is unable to refuse the oppotunity to return to Ayodhya Rani's hometown of Madras. While Rasika can become educated in a devotional atmosphere, a good job awaits Kripa Sindhu.

Last Sunday, ISKCON’s Melbourne community farewelled these three special devotees with a maha-breakfast feast. Musicians chanted kirtana. Sri Gaura Prabhu worked behind the scenes as Charu Caitanya Dasa served as our master of ceremonies. Friends and well-wishers packed the prasadam hall beyond capacity. Charu invited us all to offer our obeisances to each other, accentuating the phrase ‘krpa-sindhubhya eva ca.’ He reminded us how Kripa Sindhu has indeed proved to be an ocean of mercy in his service to ISKCON Melbourne.

Yadu Srestha reminisced how Kripa Sindhu and Nityananda Priya were so eager to attend the morning program they would take a taxi from South Yarra to attend mangalarati. He remembered how - as new devotees - both always asked serious, sincere questions about Krishna consciousness. Yadu Srestha pointed out Krpa Sindhu’s first class example. Coming to Krishna consciousness as a student fresh from India, he fervently preaches to his countrymen to join the same auspicious path.

Charu Caitanya noted that - on Kripa Sindhu’s departure - we will all have to step up to the standard of care and compassion he has set in sharing devotional life with the student community.

Prabhu Dasa spoke on behalf of Aniruddha Prabhu and Acintya Mataji, who are currently serving in Mayapur. He praised Kripa Sindhu’s outstanding contribution to the temple since 1999, and blessed Krpa Sindhu’s move to Madras.

Surya Gopal Dasa was next to the microphone, recalling how Kripa Sindhu was always accompanied by two other mahajanas: Nityananda Priya Dasa and Radha Krishna Dasa. Surya Gopal underlined Kripa Sindhu’s humility and enthusiasm for devotional service, and his other skills which range from ‘computer to cooking’!

Sarva Mangala Dasi, Jnana Samudra Dasa, Tota Gopinath Dasa, Ananda Ballabha Dasa, Mahatma Dasa, Sudershan Caitanya Dasa, Muralidhara Dasa, Jagannatha Rama Dasa, Yogeshwara Govinda Dasa and Gopa Vrindesh Dasa all spoke, glorifying Kripa Sindhu Prabhu’s service.

Lila Mayi Devi Dasi - Kripa Sindhu’s sister - movingly described how her brother brought his whole family to Krishna consciousness.

Kripa Sindhu Dasa was last to speak: endlessly glorifying each of Melbourne’s devotees whom he credited with making remarkable contributions to his spiritual life, and then begging forgiveness for offences.

We join Lila Mayi in her sorrow at separation from this strong Vaisnava family, and in her hope for their speedy return.

You can see a slide show here.

final part, Batteries died!

The evening began with kirtans and everyone joined enthusiastically to sing Har Har Har Shambho. As the pace increased, devotee Jai Krishnaji's fingers on the drums were magnificent reminding me of Shiva Tandava. With the snow laden peaks of the beautiful Rockies visible through the windows, I couldn't help thinking we were celebrating Shiva Ratri on the Kailash Mountains!

Nobody said Martha Stewart had the market cornered on sharing good things. That's why I want to share with you this totally bitchin' (I just really needed to get that phrase out of my system) site offering some much needed services around here.
Are you experiencing any of the following symptoms?

Fatigue or lack of motivation? Can I answer this later?
Constant stress or tension? Who wants to know?
Insomnia or overeating? *Crunch* *Crunch*
Lack of mental clarity? What was the question?
Financial misfortune or legal problems? It's the five-O, G!
Discord with spouse or coworkers? Not as long as they leave me alone.
Behavioral/performance problems with children/employees? That depends. How do you define "problem?"

Our goal is to pull off a world revolution, not with guns and bombs, but by giving the people in general enlightened education of the relationship between the individual self and the Supreme Self. An all-encompassing world-wide spiritual revolution is desperately needed now more than ever for this human society, which is drifting further and further...

A house full of seven kids and seven adults can be quite a scene, so Kiriti and I decided to get out of the house for a little...that's right...food shopping!

From Bhakta Dasa

Last week the devotees of Melbourne Temple helped a community tragically affected by the Black Saturday bushfires that burnt Victoria. Hare Krishna Food For Life distributed prasadam meals to those in need in the Kinglake region.

This area was severely devastated by horrific bushfires that left many people dead and injured. People were left without accommodation or belongings as so many houses were destroyed as well as businesses, farms and livestock.

At the time of the horrific events the temple devotees as well as our congregation were eager to help these victims one way or another. Obviously the best way for us to help was to distribute Lord Krishna’s mercy in the form of prasadam.

After a meeting, it was decided that we put a plan into action and get things under way. We solicited some of our suppliers to either give produce as a donation or to supply what we needed at cost price. Their generosity was truly amazing and very gratefully received - we were soon ready to help out.

Unfortunately it was not as easy as we thought to get through to the different relief agencies that were all extremely busy organizing such a huge rescue and relief effort. They also had not previously worked with nor knew about our Food For Life program and our ability to help in such an emergency situation by providing nutritious meals to those in need.

It was only after actually going to the Whittlesea ‘refugee’ camp and speaking to the Crisis Kitchen Director that we were able to start our prasadam distribution campaign in earnest.

We were asked to supply the meals by working alongside the Australian Army, who by this stage was providing thousands of meals to the survivors of the bush fires as well as to the rescue workers who were working around the clock.

In particular, they were looking forward to us coming and assisting them because there are a high percentage of vegetarians in the Kinglake region. They really appreciated us helping them by supplying delicious and nutritious vegetarian meals.

Early on Thursday morning the devotees got to work and produced a feast of delicious rice, subji, pappadams, halavah with custard, and lassi to take up to the heart of the devastation.

After a long and agonizing drive through the fire ravaged landscape and seeing with our own eyes the extent of the damage to land and property, we arrived at the meal distribution centre – a virtual military war-zone base. The commanding officer welcomed us enthusiastically, and we set up and started our service alongside a group of inquisitive army personnel.

For about three hours we were run off our feet serving up to 300 people who were very appreciative of us being there. We received many positive comments: “ No way, the Haris are here and they have halavah and lassi! I’m in heaven.” And, “Oh, I am so glad you guys are here! Some pure vegetarian meals, finally.”

At the conclusion of mealtime, the Staff Sergeant and Corporal directing the proceedings asked us if they could distribute the prasadam that was left over for evening dinner and breakfast the following morning. Who would have ever thought that the Australian Armed Forces would join Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtan army and give out the mercy so eagerly?

Driving home, Suvarna Manjari Dasi, Bhakta Sridhara and I reflected on the incredible events that we witnessed. It was amazing that in such a time of destruction, sadness and pain how the community got together to support each other and how we had the opportunity to be part of that rebuilding. Even though our effort could be seen as minimal, the potency of prasadam distribution is spiritually amazing.

The army is now readying to withdraw their services and life in these communities will slowly get back to some sort of normality as we pray for their well-being.

Now that Hare Krishna Food for Life at Melbourne Temple has learnt lessons from this experience, in the event of any future unexpected natural disaster we hope to be more ready to lend assistance with a much quicker response. We are still seeking donations for the services rendered as the Temple needed to fund some of the infrastructure that is now ready to be utilized for future crisis response.

I would like to thank all of the devotees who volunteered their services. Thanks also to all of those individuals and companies who donated money, supplies and other products to this Hare Krishna Food For Life cause.

Toronto, Ontario

Through the foot healing process I have been employing many methods (all doctor approved, of course). The latest has been sporting this air cast around the right leg. This leg device as it stands on its own looks like lofty foot gear from a Star Wars feature. Our community at the Sunday festival saw the latest in monk's fashion as I entered the temple's main hall. A few eyebrows were raised. The final prescription for the day to address the ongoing foot inflammation was to have someone gather clean snow, submerge the foot in it, dry off the foot, and repeat. So I did (I don't know how Francis of Assissi walked those snow trails in total oblivion).

On the more sober note our sizeable gathering of four hundred people heard the glories of one of the topmost ascetics of all times, Shiva, as it was his birth anniversary. Indradyumna Swami spoke extolling his glories, Near the tail end of the program I offered dedication to the recent innocent people who died in the cross-fire of Singalese and Tamil warfare in Sri Lanka. Civil war has persisted there for years. Now the struggle has intensified.

There are at least 250,000 Tamil people living in the Toronto area, most of them from Sri Lanka. A percentage of them have shown great interest in Krishna devotionalism in recent years. For them we grieve as well as for the lost and killed victims of Sri Lanka, whether Tamil or Singalese. These identities relate to the temporary body. If we can grasp the wisdom about our own essence, that we are spirits, then we would look to moving into the direction of compromise and negotiations, and dissolve another senseless war.

The comomunity co-operatively chanted the maha-mantra in the name of peace - all in unison. It was very powerful.

Toronto, Ontario

Indradyumna Swami and I sat in front of a group of local youths from the community in what we call the yellow room. As the guest of honour he spoke.

“My parents were both graduates of Stanford University. They were brilliant.” He went on to say that he didn’t follow their same studious past and so they asked him while he was in his youth, “What are you going to do with yourself?” He wasn’t able to give a clear answer and then he met some Krishna monks who had a tremendous impact. He discovered chanting and that was it. Life turned around.

In the room of the glowing youth many of the listeners held in their right hand a pouch or what’s called a bead bag which holds the individual’s meditational beads. Indradyumna, who is a very revered monk known for his organizing of grandiose spiritual festivals, noted that most of the listeners were daily chanters. Then he put a good word in for commitment and shooting for the golden figure of sixteen.

“Sixteen” refers to sixteen revolutions of 108 beads chanted. Each strand of beads numbers 108 of those beads. It was the expressed desire of our guru, Srila Prabhupada, to chant this prescribed amount of mantras daily. So the number “16” is etched in stone and Indradyumna was encouraging all present to shoot for that target which is a strong commitment of two hours daily.

After the fine session of emphasizing chanting I showed Indradyumna a new publication I picked up on my last trip to the States. The newspaper with one of those “zine” formats is called “Sixteen Rounds” and can be found on the internet at www.16Rounds.com. Articles of content are topical and attractive and are geared towards the well-being of all living entities, promoting spiritualiy and exposing the faults of materialism. The youth will love it. It’s a gem of a publication.

That’s 16 ROUNDS!

Toronto, Ontario

Sex Shock

My dear friends, Indradyumna Swami and companion Sri Prahalad, arrived today. We lunched together and chatted over a grainless (ekadasi) vegetarian meal. Swami and I are both monastic men while Sri Prahalad is married. One topic that did hold our minds in some suspension was the subject of the world’s out-of-control sex and in particular teenage pregnancies. Becoming more common is the casualness of very young people, who are not adults, taking to irresponsible intercourse.

I don’t believe you have to be religious to be shocked at hearing that a young UK boy at 13 is a dad and the 15 year old mother of the newborn could not confirm. She admitted that there were other possibilities as to who did the fathering. Now who is to blame for such a social ill? Perhaps we require a real hard look at what lurks around in our lives – a lot of irresponsible folks who offer no education by precept or by example. I believe that the sex revolution of the ‘60s did not turn out to be a healthy proposition and that in fact it has come to haunt us decades later. Astronomically the age in which we live is the age of Kali, a time of self-indulgence. In the case of the 13 year old dad, it is not just the sheer crassness of behaviour, but the lack of will on the part of all of us to correct what is becoming more and more rampant. Principles are not the number one priority. Ignoring foul play is an easy cop-out.

I have made a personal commitment to speak to people in my area of influence about principles that lead to freedom and that happiness is not so cheap. I can’t stop thinking about children bearing children and being unprepared for the tough world.

1 Km walked.

Toronto, Ontario

While I’m going through the healing process in mostly a horizontal position, hooked to intravenous, I had to become somewhat creative and innovative in the use of my space right next to me. Beside my bed, within arms reach, lying on the floor is my office space of approximately two square feet including phone, books and writing material. Next to that is my kitchen of fruit in a bag and juice in a bottle in a virtually smaller space. To the right of that is my entertainment centre of CD player and iPod. Neighboured by that is my pharmaceutical centre with crutches leaning over the antibiotic containers. It’s all there at my fingertips – all except for toilet and shower.

I’m honoured to be in my recovery in the same room where our guru slept 33 years ago. That’s truly sacred space, cause for recovery.

In crowded China, with its powerful workforce, some folks find it hard to have their own private space. A man who works a hard week is reported to come home to a metal cage where he sleeps and for that he must pay rent each month. How valuable that space must be for him!

As some of you know in addition to walking, theatre is another passion I have. When entering a building or room, I analyze the use of the space with sometimes an overly critical mind see the area as too crammed or too cavernous. I’m a fanatic about things being placed with a little “smartness”, like trying to see that a stage with actors are making a balanced use of space. When something is asymmetrical, my mind is agitated.

Recently in some of the tropical temples I visited, I saw the main entrance door reveal the back of a huge chair (vyasasana) and to its right, was a beautiful stambha, or pillar. Graced on top of it was perched an image of Garuda, Vishnu’s bird carrier. I expressed my agitation to the temple leader about how I perceived a wrong use of placement of things. The main entrance wasn’t inviting. The leader paid heed to a suggestion that the devotional bird be placed in a way that it’s the first impression to see, and a welcoming one.

To my amazement, Garuda, who with folding pranam hands, now stands in a centered position looking as if greeting one and all. I think it made a huge difference in the use of space. Personally, I am aching to get out of my small confined space in bed and see the world again - the big, big world of space.

1969 February 23: "It is important that we preach the message exactly as we have heard it from our Spiritual Master. The spirit of the disciplic succession may not be changed."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 February 23: "So far cooperating with my Godbrothers is concerned, that is not very urgent business. Until now they have regularly not cooperated with me and by the grace of my Spiritual Master, things are still going ahead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 February 23: "Bhaktivinode Thakura predicted someone would come very soon who would individually preach this cult all over the world. So if his benediction is there and my Guru Maharaja's blessings, let us go ahead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

Prabhupada turned to me and said, "Krsna says in Bhagavad-gita that 'One who is spreading My teachings of Bhagavad-gita to the devotees is the most dear to Me, and there is never one who is more dear.'" Then Prabhupada added, "Our business is to become dear to Krsna."

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SPL 7-4: A Summer in Montreal, 1968

told by Sivananda Prabhu

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.6.31 - We can get the taste of bhakti rasa by regularly serving the person Bhagavata & the book Bhagavata.

"There are only two truly infinite things, the universe and stupidity. And I am unsure about the universe." Albert Einstein

Here's another little collage which is just about meat, there is a lot of antiwar sentiment but not much willingness to acknowledge that our lifestyle is responsible for the war.

Here's an article from the Audubon Society which is good in that it acknowledges but the connect between consumption of meat and fossil fuel consumption but very few are willing to make the direct connection to the wars in the middle east which are obviously eliminating the threat posed by Al Queada and Sadam and their weapons of mass destruction.

2,500 years ago Pythagaros said "As long as men kill animals they will kill each other" but now that is being proven true in a very literal way.

The only hope is Krishna consciousness, without real God consciousness the "lofty ideals" of secular humanism, communism, socialism, environmentalism or any other ism "will never be fulfilled in the land of man."

Krishna is the real object of our love, although we may try we cannot place our love in animals, in humans, in the environment, or anything of this world. Such false idols will never inspire us to make the radical change of consciousness to total selflessness that is necessary for real change in the world.

Preaching God consciousness is truly the greatest welfare work, it is the best thing we can do for ourselves and for all living entities.

One thing that is always welcome is comments being left by others, both negative and positive some make me think or re-look at my statements. However although I was not surprised by one feedback made for me it highlights a small but vital point that within ISKCON there is an inability to listen to any negative [...]

On the 26th of January Hladini and many of her friends tasted grain from the hands of Sivarama Maharaja with sweet rice. We had a very sweet grain ceremony day with continious laughters, shoutings and cries, all together with children and parents.

EMOTIONS AND THOUGHTS IN THE EVOLUTION OF OUR CHARACTER AND DESTINY

by Matsya Avatara Dasa.

Problems without solution do not exist. The in-depth psychological knowledge of the Vedic tradition, in harmony in modern psychological researches, identifies conscious and active willpower  as the turning point for the solution to existential problems: one ought to desire to find solutions and methodically pursue them with determination, instead of plunging deep in pain, thinking it incurable. A remissive attitude sets the person for failure. The first steps out are undoubtedly strenuous, as coming out of a moor or quicksand, but later, walking in the direction of light, the joy of living rises again from within, bearing all its vital power. Attitude is the focal point: the way you approach life, life responds to you, as it happens in relationships with fellow humans. We are the directors of our mental scenery: if we find one scenery is wrong and unfitting we can take it out, replace it with the proper one, and our mood will change. If we avoid complaints and save our energies, once we hit the profound conviction of how we want to act, we will have energies at our disposal to invest and multiply. You can multiply your resources by investing them in evolution, or you can destroy them in wasteful lamentations: it is all up you. In the evolution of consciousness, thought is a tool and emotions the means; we can use emotions for a quality jump in perception, instead of living them as knots which tie to conditioned existence. Therapy can start the moment we counter hot-natured emotions with cool-natured thoughts which have the power to clarify any turbid content. It is certainly difficult for thought to counter emotions on its own, as the latter's psychic charge is significantly higher. A series of positive emotions well instilled in our memory is our ready to hand emergency kit: when we wish to evoke them, they are immediately in our reach. Positive emotions are themselves a strong emotional charge, generally a luminous, expansive, penetrating one which can refine the healing operation only partially accomplished by thought.

It could be teachings we have received, beautiful life moments when we've experienced spiritual happiness: these memories will be extraordinarily precious if we can evoke them at the right moment, the moment of a trauma or serious crisis, even when death is approaching. If you try and change the scenery and evoke some moments of happiness from the memory archive, moments of intense spiritual growth together with people engaged in positive thinking and acting, you'll see your mood suddenly change and the course of thinking take a more vibrant and luminous direction.

Careful storage of positive moments is then all the more important: moments of joy, moments when we deeply understand others and  they understand us, and most of all moments of truth which open our vision. If we are accountable for our thinking, then who forces us to  store anguishing emotions or sad thoughts? There is no obligation, we ought only to learn to substitute them with other positive emotions and thoughts. As Patanjali (Sadhana Pada, sutra 34) suggests to meditate on the opposite thought, when negative thoughts haunt the mind.

BBC NEWS - Online networking 'harms health'

"People's health could be harmed by social networking sites because they reduce levels of face-to-face contact, an expert claims.

Dr Aric Sigman says websites such as Facebook set out to enrich social lives, but end up keeping people apart. Dr Sigman makes his warning in Biologist, the journal of the Institute of Biology.

A lack of "real" social networking, involving personal interaction, may have biological effects, he suggests. He also says that evidence suggests that a lack of face-to-face networking could alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, the function of arteries, and influence mental performance.

This, he claims, could increase the risk of health problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease, and dementia. More...