Writing to Krishna. Running to You with my eyes closed. Praying to You with the mahamantra. Not knowing what to do for You. The best thing is to give people Krishna consciousness. That is better than food or medicine or weapons or “education.” Give them direct Krishna consciousness. There are tactics for that. They used to do it largely by dressing as civilians and approaching people to sell them Prabhupada’s books. Dressing as devotees and going in the streets to sing the Hare Krishna mantra. Lectures in the colleges. Giving out prasadam to materially needy people. Festivals on Sunday at the temple or ratha yatras in the streets and parks. Setting the example by running a “self-sufficient” farm, growing crops and protecting cows (never really done self-sufficiently). Bringing people to the holy dhamas of India. Teaching astanga yoga. Holding lectures, kirtanas and feasts in your home and inviting neighbors and friends. Publishing books and Back to Godhead magazine. Selling CDs, videos on the Internet; running a webpage on the Internet. Building temples. And many more tactics performed by enthusiastic preachers. read more - part 8>>

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"Saturday with ISKCON congregation"

Q: In facing difficulty and adversity what is it that sustains you most and gives you so much courage?

A: In facing adversity I try to accept that what happens it the arrangement of providence. Somehow there is something good to learn in the adverse situation. At least we have the opportunity not to despair but to depend on Krishna. Everything is happening to us by his will even if we cannot understand it. We should not think we are victims of unfair treatment by the Lord, but take shelter in Him and beg him for the courage to survive the adversity. Ultimately we cannot protect ourselves from infamy, decease, poverty or even death. We should practice chanting Hare Krishna. Knowing I am tiny and Krishna is great and that he is my only protector is the way I sustain myself.

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Sridhara Swami explains that bees are victims of smell, being sometimes being swallowed up at night by flowers; male elephants are victims of sex desire when hunters display female elephant before a large camouflaged pit; deer are victims of sound when their human predators blow a bugle known as a deer call; fish are victims of their sense of taste when they bite the bait on a fisherman's hook; moths are victims of sight when the hurtle at flames that instantly destroy them.

Similarly, human beings are constantly victimized by all five organs of acquisition.

Pancha-tattva mangala arati in ISKCON Mayapur temple, March 1, 2009

Reflections on Lord Caitanya
What does Lord Caitanya mean to me? (From the notes of HH Kadamba Kanana Swami Maharaja)

*
I’m seeing Lord Caitanya as invisibly always there- at least I’m thinking of Him like that. When I think of a verse in the Caitanya Caritamrta, which is katahncana smrte yasmin duskaram sukuram bhavet, that by the mercy of Lord Caitanya, difficult things become easy; that I am concluding that Lord Caitanya is there to block out difficulties.
*
(Story of Ajamila): the description is not as graphic as what you might see today; today you might see things that are a lot worse than what Ajamila saw and we are generally not as qualified as Ajamila. So Srila Prabhupada is addressing this point and he is saying then, what is the chance of the modern man? But it is because Lord Caitanya is there that things are going on and somehow or other that we can do what Ajamila couldn’t do. Lord Caitanya is sort of blocking all the attacks of Maya; He gets in between all the time and we are walking around thinking, ‘I’m getting pretty advanced! I’m really quite a great devotee now!’ Lord Caitanya saves us again and again. He saves us all the time. He’s personal, He’s very much with us, He’s very active in our life.
*
He is so terribly generous; He couldn’t serve prasadam for less than 3-5 people. Even if there was one, He’s got enough for three because His hand cannot serve less, He cannot do it, He has to give more, it’s just His nature to be overwhelmingly generous.
*
That generosity extends beyond giving things because giving things is not completely generous. In the end generosity means giving everything- giving yourself. So Lord Caitanya especially gives Himself to His devotee- very much so. Krsna also, but Lord Caitanya much more! Still much more easily available to His devotee.
*
Therefore Lord Caitanya is very much present in our life- very much so. One has to meditate on the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

An open invitation:
sri-krsna-caitanya-daya karaha vicara
vicara karate cite pabe camatkara
If you are meditating on the mercy of Lord Caitanya then in your heart, you will find it to be wonderful and you will be amazed.

It’s the key to understand Lord Caitanya, in approaching Lord Caitanya. How to approach Lord Caitanya? Think about His mercy! That is what Krsnadas Kaviraja Gosvami says. Understand how Lord Caitanya is more and merciful, and think about it, meditate, and the more you do, the more amazed one becomes in the heart. The more the heart becomes involved, then spiritual life becomes very easy. To do something and if the heart is not into it is called DUTY and duty is such a thing…in this age especially, we don’t like duty. So the heart must be into it. It’s the key to be a devotee of Lord Caitanya…

Several devotees requested a faster way to download the files at iskconmedia.com

We compressed all ebooks as zip files so they are easier to download. They are organized in categories so you dont have to download everything if you dont want.

These are the categories :

acaryas.zip

articles.zip

biographies.zip

controversial.zip

deity_worship.zip

health.zip

history.zip

iskcon_authors.zip

namas.zip

other_sampradayas.zip

pancaratra.zip

puranas.zip

sastra.zip

science.zip

song_and_verse_books.zip

study_guides.zip

various_books.zip

Don’t forget that you can also download many mp3s and photos too.

www.iskconmedia.com

>From BTG 25-06, 1999

There is no direct engineering by the Lord for the creation and destruction of the material world. What is described in the Vedas about His direct interference is simply to counteract the idea that material nature is the creator.

- Srimad Bhagavatam 2.10.45

The idea of describing God as directly intervening is not to empirically establish that as fact, but rather to convey the understanding that as the indirect cause He is the ultimate cause.

Science reveals more and more that He is not directly involved. As various religions try to assert that He is directly involved (through doctrines of Intelligent Design or Creationism that rely on these stories as literal, emprical truths) they undermine their own position.

Vedic metaphysics kicks off at the point of asking the question: "Is the universe self-manifested, or does it have a cause?"

Vedic metaphysics answer the question: "No, it is not its own cause. There is a higher order of magnitude."

Sankaracarya put it thus: "Brahman is substance and matter is category".

Empirical science is the investigation into the sub-categories of matter. However, this is only one category of knowledge. The epistemological position of taking this knowledge as the all-in-all is known in Sanskrit as avidya, or "knowledge in the mode of ignorance".

Chaos increases

One of the arguments raised against evolution is that "it violates the second law of thermodynamics".

The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy always increases. This means that in any closed system heat and information always leak out, and so the system runs down. Entropy is a measure of disorder. It's always increasing. Among other things this fundamental principle of the universe leads to the irreversibility of time.

So evolution seems to violate this principle. How do things become more ordered over time?

Evolutionists have their response to this, usually something along the lines of: it is not a closed system — total entropy increases — but there is a local reversal of entropy.

A biological organism is a local reversal of chaos

This is true. The body itself is a local reversal of entropy. Take a look around. Everywhere things are breaking down over time. This is the nature of this universe. In the Vedic scripture it says that in the spiritual realm, "time is conspicuous by its absence". In Bhagavad-gita Krishna says: "Time I am, destroyer of worlds" (this verse was quoted by Robert Oppenheimer when he witnessed the detonation of the Manhattan project's first atomic bomb).

This feature of time is the measurement of decay. Increase of entropy (decay) and the passage of material time are closely linked. The phenomenon of material time arises from the principle of increasing entropy.

We see it everywhere - the rooms of the house gets messier, the outside of the house gets dirtier, the car breaks down, we have to have a shower everyday to get clean again. Chaos, disorder, and decay increase by the force of time (or time turns by the increase of chaos, the two are intrinsically linked).

However, there are some glaring exceptions to this. Somehow, a bunch of material elements assemble into a complex biological organism. They assume a shape, a form, and then perform complex tasks, often reversing entropy on a larger scale, such as making a building, landscaping, or engaging in other complex, information-increasing behaviour.

What is it that causes this startling local reversal of entropy? What is going against the flow of the universe?

The soul provides information to an otherwise disordered environment

Vedic metaphysics explain this as the action of the contact of the soul with material nature. The nature of the soul is sat-cid-ananda. Cit means "knowledge". The soul is a source of information, which reverses entropy locally. When the soul is no longer in contact with the assembled elements of the material body, we see entropy reassert itself, and elements again follow the natural course of this universe to chaos and disorder.

The local reversal of entropy in the body of a biological organism is produced by the soul.

The soul and increasing genetic complexity

The other day Shiva das asked how the genome could become more complex - how more genetic information can be added during the evolution of material bodies. The soul is pumping information into the environment during its contact with the material body. In such a situation there is already a huge local reversal of entropy going on. While ordinarily the micro-effect is one of tendency to chaos (decay) and the macro-effect is one of loss of information (devolution), due to the contact of the soul entropy is reversed. In this way genetic information can increase.

It is not simply random mutation, because the body, by definition, as a local reversal of entropy, is the complete opposite of random.

The Supersoul, the Sun, and the reversal of chaos

Another significant source of local reversal of entropy is the Sun. The Sun has been recognized as the representation of the Supreme Soul by all human cultures. The Sun causes the local reversal of entropy that makes life possible on this planet. Otherwise the universe is a dark place.

This input of energy and information into the universe that causes the otherwise unstructured elements to variegate is the action of the Supersoul, the Paramatma. The Vedas describe the initial state of the universe as heat death [wikipedia], a state of maximum entropy where all energy is equally distributed and there is no flow of energy from one area or state to another. This is called in Sanskrit pradhana. The Second Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam describes the agitation of the pradhana through the entrance of the Lord into the manifested universe as the time factor. This causes the elements to differentiate. Actually the two are inseparable. Time arises from the collapse of the elements back into an undifferentiated state as much as time is the cause. The local reversal of entropy around the body of a biological organism shows the power of the soul to reverse entropy on a small scale, however, only the Supreme Soul is able to effect the massive reversal of entropy that causes the universe to start, and to provide the ongoing input of information and energy via the Sun that allows it to go on.

Realizations from meditation on the universe

By thinking about the local reversal of entropy of the body you can get some realization of the nature and power of the soul. By thinking about the reversal of entropy involved in creating and sustaining the universe you can get some idea of the magnitude of difference between the individual souls and the Supersoul.

Dear Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Yesterday in Parammatta Sydney one westernised indian lady came to me while i was on books and said i want to buy a set of srimad Bhagavatam. I almost fell on the ground in shock. I couldn't belive someone wants a set while i'm struggling to sell even one book.

Then i asked how she knew about the Srimad Bhagavatam? she said i gave her a science of Self Realization last month. She read it cover to cover and she loved it. Belive it or not she was a born again Christian before reading the SSR. Now she is a vegetarian, chanting Hare Krishna, came to our parammatta Saturday feast and took her set of SB(against the will of her still born again Christian husband). She even changed her son's name from Joshua to Arjuna.

All glories to H.H Devamrita swami who inspires me to distribute books and all glories to Srila Prabhupada who wrote the books.

Aspirng servant, Shastra krit dasa

_________________________________________________________________ Windows Live. Groups: Create an online spot for your favorite groups to meet. http://windowslive.com/online/groups?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_groups_032009 (Text D:321357) --------------------------------------------

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

Dear Prabhus, Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada!

Yesterday in Parammatta Sydney one westernised indian lady came to me while i was on books and said i want to buy a set of srimad Bhagavatam. I almost fell on the ground in shock. I couldn't belive someone wants a set while i'm struggling to sell even one book.

Then i asked how she knew about the Srimad Bhagavatam? she said i gave her a science of Self Realization last month. She read it cover to cover and she loved it. Belive it or not she was a born again Christian before reading the SSR. Now she is a vegetarian, chanting Hare Krishna, came to our parammatta Saturday feast and took her set of SB(against the will of her still born again Christian husband). She even changed her son's name from Joshua to Arjuna.

All glories to H.H Devamrita swami who inspires me to distribute books and all glories to Srila Prabhupada who wrote the books.

Aspirng servant, Shastra krit dasa

_________________________________________________________________ Windows Live. Groups: Create an online spot for your favorite groups to meet. http://windowslive.com/online/groups?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_groups_032009 (Text D:321357) --------------------------------------------

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

Az utolsó bejegyzésem egy új bhakta blog indulásáról szólt. Ez a bejegyzésem is hasonló témájú. Hemangi mataji egy gasztro témájú blogot indított. Sokan ismerhetitek, hiszen ő a Vissza Istenhez Magazin szerkesztője, szuper lektor és nem utolsó sorban egy mesterszakács. Akik már ettek a főztjéből csak dícsérni tudták. Őt is már egy ideje lelkesítem a blogírásra, és láss csodát, elkezdte a Vegavarázs nevű blogját.

Szóval, ha szeretsz vegetáriánus finomságokat főzni, otthoni praktikákat elsajátítani, akkor ezen a blogon szuper tanácsokat kaphatsz.

Még egyszer a blog címe: Vegavarazs.hu

What a transcendental sight! In the park near to the Lotus building, there were three Pandals put up for the bathing ceremony of Lord Caitanya. Each had a bathing sthana and all was tastefully decorated with a special kind of rare flowers and an opulence of garlands. From distant we heard a kirtan approaching, escorting the golden hued Lords on fancily decorated Singhasanas: two different sized Mahaprabhus were carried to the left Pandal for the male devotees’ bathing.

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In the material world we tend to take things for granted when we succeed at something. At such times one is prone to think, "I have done it. I have won." In fact one should be grateful that Krsna has allowed for victory over material nature. Such triumphs are easily reversed. In the latter portion of the Bhagavad-gita we find three verses that recommend being equipoised in happiness or distress. Most people blame God for their misfortunes and credit themselves when destiny appears to smile on them.

We humbly request the prayers of all the Vaisnavas for their speedy recovery and spiritual well-being of two Mayapur residents, Jahnudvipa prabhu from Denmark, and his wife Brajasevaki dasi from Australia, who were badly injured in a car crash at Madhyamgram just near the Kolkata airport on the morning of 12th March 2009. Jahnudvipa has broken legs and possible internal injuries and is listed as very critical. Brajasevaki was unconscious with facial and leg injuries but not believed to be as bad as her husband. Both are now in the Apollo hospital in Kolkata.

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Harinam in Carina

Date: Sunday, March 15th, 2009
Time: 2 pm
Location: Mayfield Rd and Waratah Ave, Carina

Please note that if it's raining we'll take a rain check this week. SMS 0431 929 675 for confirmation on the day if it's looking dodgy.

Next week I'm taking a couple of days of work to go on tour with Dave Stringer.

Dave is staying at our place next week, and Prahlad and I are going to go down to Byron Bay to do the sound for his concert there on Tuesday night, and then on Wednesday night I'm playing bass for him at the Yoga Den in West End.

I'm totally stoked about this. I love Dave's music, especially Aja Uttama, a track he recorded as a duet with Karnamrita dasi. Really looking forward to it.

If you are in Byron, come along on Tuesday night - it's at the Byron Yoga Center.

If you're in Brisbane, definitely come along on Wednesday night. The concert starts at 8pm, and Param Satya is cooking, so there will be "light vegetarian refreshments" afterwards. More details over at atmayoga.com.au.

I admire people who take religion seriously enough to challenge it. And I suspect God would too, if he thought ads on the sides of buses or atheist thoughts for the day were as worthy of his time as helping people find meaning in their lives and peace in their souls. Perhaps if we are confronted with better questions about the meaning and value of religion, we will be forced to find better answers.

- How I Learned Not to Fear the Anti-God Squad, Wall Street Journal

Big it up for the new atheist evangelists!

Copied from, Our Srila Prabhupada, a Friend to All: Early Contemporaries Remember Him,  Srila Bhakti Vaibhava Puri Maharaj is describing a some of his memories of Srila Prabhupada:

“I first met Srila Swami Maharaja in Calcutta.  He was living in his family home at Sita-Kanta Banarjee Lane.  This was in the early 1940’s, around 1943, when he was maintaining his medicine shop distributing formulas he had discovered.  I was sometimes going there to that address with Sridhara Maharaja and Kesava Maharaja and our Asrama Maharaja.  We went there collecting for Navadvipa and for other business.  That is when I was introduced to him.

“Even in those early days he told me about his future program for visiting America.  He showed us the books he wrote on the Bhagavata and his magazine, Back to Godhead. We talked about many topics and associated together in those years until 1946 or so.

“He often asked me if I would go with him to America.  He wanted me to leave the institution and become the sub-editor of his paper.  I told him that I was part of the institution and also so young, I did not want to go to the foreign countries.  In 1948 I was sent by Srila Tirtha Maharaja (Kunja Babu) to the Ramananda Gaudiya Matha on the Godavari River to be the temple president there.  Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada had installed the footprints of Mahaprabhu there in 1932.  Some years after this Srila Swami Maharaja took the sannyasa order from Kesava Maharaja in Mathura.  He left India from the Damodara Temple in 1965 and I did not meet him again until he returned from the Western countries.

“In 1971 he came to our Rajamundry Temple.  I had wanted him to come to open the temple, so I had written to him, asking him to come.  He wrote me back a letter that I still have here, agreeing to come.  He also wrote that of almost all of his godbrothers, I was appreciating his preaching.  Then he came to our celebration with some students, some sannyasis and brahmacaris.  He stayed for one week.  They also came to Vishakapatnam and he inaugurated our temple.  For twenty days he stayed here with many of his senior students, but I don’t remember all their names.

“After this, Srila Swami Maharaja asked us to come back to Mayapura with him to attend the foundation-laying ceremony, which I helped to perform.  He was inviting all of his godbrothers in Mayapura and I helped him at that time.  Many came and saw the festival and attended the big feast.  He received them. But then, some of them complained because he had accepted Prabhupada’s title.  He told them how somehow he had allowed the students to call him that name, but it was an old issue and what to do now?  We discussed this afterwards, and I told some of the godbrothers they should accept his name in light of all the service he has done to the world.  Others in our lineage had taken that name, so what is the difference?  When they all departed, prasada was distributed along with one book, cloth and five rupees.  Krsna dasa Babaji was also present.  I stayed there for seven days.

“Swami Maharaja requested our Ananda Prabhu to help in Mayapura with the cooking.  Ananda Prabhu spent two years there with Maharaja as I had asked him.  He was very strict, but could not deal successfully with the Western disciples and he left. 

“Srila Swami Maharaja once asked me to speak to Visvanatha dasa, our old friend, who was at our village for seven days.  He was Chief Minister from the brahmana community.  Swami Maharaja wanted his disciples to be allowed to enter the Jagannatha Temple in Puri.  He gave me one Krsna book, which I gave to Visvanatha.  I asked him to please see if some change could be adopted there.  However he was not a strong Chief Minister.  He said he would try, but it was not done and he died.  I saw Swami Maharaja another time when we all came to Calcutta for some big meetings.

“In 1977 we traveled with many pilgrims to Madhava Maharaja’s temple in Badrinarayana.  Srila Swami Maharaja was staying for some time near Rishikesh.  I went there along with Asrama Maharaja and some others.  He was lying on the bed and was very glad to see us.  One disciple, Hamsaduta dasa had written an article condemning a doctor scientist in Lanka who was an atheist.  Even though Srila Swami Maharaja was lying down in weak health, we were all laughing.  We took prasada and returned back.

“Once I said to him, ‘Maharaja, you should survive for ten more years.’  He answered, ‘How can I survive?  You see my pulse.’  I saw that his pulse was not moving.  I said, ‘Unless you stay, these Western disciples will not unite.  They are strong-headed and they will fight.  You must put them in line with our tradition.  Previously I said, ‘Maharaja, you have established some gurus but Guru must be one.’  He said, ‘I have not selected.  Only rtviks to act in my place now.’  I said, After your demise they will be gurus.  Unless you bless a guru to sit on the Vyasaasana, they must go down.’  He said, ‘What to do?  Everything is Krsna’s will.’  Then after some time in Vrndavana he passed away.

“He gave so much time and life-breath to serve his institution.  No one else has done so much to improve our institution throughout the world.  He received Sri Guru and Gauranga’s blessings.  Once he said, ‘It is all my Prabhupada’s blessings.  I have done my duty.  Now the rest of it depends on the Lord.’  He labored hard.  No other could do as he did in the foreign countries.  He taught everything: how to cook, how to clean, how to prepare everything, how to decorate, and how to print books and include photos, book distribution.  So much importance he placed on books , as our Prabhupada said.  Big volumes with cover page he has invented.  He possessed all devotional qualities.  By his preaching in less than ten years — there is no other example of anyone doing like this — by introducing hari-nama in every town and village, he has fulfilled the prediction of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.”

Hare Krishna.

The east of England may be the most godless region of the UK, according to a "belief map" published by a theology thinktank today. Almost half of adults there believe the theory of evolution makes God obsolete, and more than 80% disagree with creationism and intelligent design, which propose that humans were created by God in the past 10,000 years, and that life owes its complexity to divine intervention.

- Four out of five Britons repudiate creationism, Guardian UK

My commentary: That's what happens when you "hard link" your metaphysics with a superseded empirical model.