By Nayika devi dasi

Here you can see the pictures of Inauguration of new restaurant ”
Vrinda’s Divine Cuisine” at Indore (16.03.09):

Inauguration of new restaurant Vrinda’s divine cuisine

Ever since I saw the Abhay Charan series and how the devotees in the early days took Jagannath out for a day at the park, I have been envisioning taking my Jagannath, Baladev and Subhadra out in our garden during summer. Have Them rest on a charpai, while we fan them gently with chamaras and peacock feather fans, feed Them natural, homemade mango ice cream, topped with golden yellow slices of

The other week we had the great fortune to do some kirtan with some world class musicians for a small group of friends in upstate New York. Keli Lalita founder of Karuna Shakti Center for Yoga and Meditation invited renowned percussionist John de Kadt who then invited Steve Gorn the Bansuri flute virtuoso. To top it all off, our good freind Curtis Bahn brought is new heart stealing Dilruba/Esraj.

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Dayal Gauranga Das: All Glories Prabhuapada and Guru, Can you read about web Deaf please link for deaf issue. Thanks

Well I’ve gone into the garage and resurected my old Packard Bell, running the aged window 98se os. It helped me through three years of uni and at the time was considered state of the art, now obsolite. But continues to serve nicely dispite some small hickups It made me think we judge many things be its [...]

We often hear the phrase, you take one step closer to Krishna, He takes ten towards you. Yet practically speaking the methodology of how to take that step is left out. The other day during Srimad-Bhagavatam class, HDG Sriman Sankarshan das Adhikari mentioned that, "each time we chant the Holy Names we are taking one step closer to Krishna and He is take ten towards us." 

Hare Krsna dear devotees. We had such nice sessions in the Japa Room this weekend - being aware of every obstacle which is detrimental to our japa and trying to look for good advice to overcome them. Chanting and doing others things at the same time....talking while chanting....thinking about something else....mechanical japa are all symptoms of bad chanting and there is a need for improvement.
Some of the good advice given by Rasa prabhu were to find a peaceful environment for chanting so we can focus on the sound of the mantra who is Krsna Himself....visualize or read the mantra along and avoid inattentive japa which is the root of all the other offenses. The tendency we have after some time of chanting is that we fall into old habits again and the mind starts taking over. It happened to me sometime and what I did when I realised this was that I should take more time for chanting and concentrate more.
A very important aspect that was discussed this weekend was also the power of the maha mantra and also the names being Krsna himself. I would like to share with you the nice verses of the Sri Krsna Namastakam again here so we can be reminded of the great potency of Nama Prabhu.

Pictures and a report from Sunday's Holi celebrations will be posted shortly, so stay tuned!

March 16, 3:15 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

The evening was not bad, although I woke up early several times and finally got up at 3:15 A.M. My head condition was shaky. My mental condition was tired.

I began japa at 3:40 A.M.

A persistent headache despite meds prevented me from intense prayer to Radha-Krishna. I could not apply pressure to my desire for ardent japa. My audibility was a whisper. But I recited the syllables clearly. I tried to feel the desire to chant. Not just the idea of it, but the feeling. I take pleasure in the race against the clock, trying to get eight rounds done by 5:00 A.M. If possible, I’d like to take a little non-sleeping rest with my eyes closed before Baladeva comes up and we leave by 5:30 A.M. But usually this is impossible. Usually I finish eight rounds and immediately it’s time to leave. With a little rest I would be more confident of not being sleepy for that hour of japa in the car before we leave for the walk in the parking lot. That hour is usually not so good. My personal goal is to get sixteen rounds done before returning to the house. The best thing about the early morning session was that I persisted despite the headache. The worst thing was the accompanying pain that distracted me. Unfortunately, I think my insistence on chanting instead of resting has caused the headache to persist.

The Opening

The opening is joyful

fiesta. Cecil Payne in

his seventies plays baritone

sax with verge and old

age.

I mean he’s not a kid anymore

but still can stumble over the

notes happily agile, the leader

of the group.

Dip into the ocean of nectar,

come up refreshed and keep

going with your tune

improvised. Not knowing exactly

what you’ll do next. They stay

on top.

It’s a wondrous gift from Krishna

to play piano with your fingertips

staying ahead of yourself and then

right in control.

So the opening is the beginning

of freedom. It starts the

party, it brings us into the

magic circle right away.

They know what they’re doing

even if you don’t. Follow them

and you’ll have a good time.

Hallelujah shouts and jumps over

hoops.

Bolambo

A slower tune with foggy

voice.

He is sad about

something, and the drummer

backs him up.

Wandering down an empty

street alone, he’s joined

by friends also in a melancholy mood.

Suddenly they jump into speed

and the mood is changed. Old

Cecil pumps it out, sitting

down with his awkward sax.

They are joined by a young

tenor man who’s able

to move quickly with subtle

fingers and breath. He

wails.

The piano dances, fingers all over the place and

rhythm sure.

All this is for our pleasure

to bring us out of doldrums

or neutral status and fill

our heads with lively airs.

They learned it from the Master

of all arts, who allows

bouncing and jouncing

and reminds us it’s His

lotus feet we need to

bow to.

9:19 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I write to You. I’m always getting headaches nowadays, and though I don’t know why or how they come, You know all about them. You are in control of them. I make stopgap attempts to control them with medicines, but You keep causing them to come back. Why are You doing this? You’re keeping it a secret from me. It may be done for some wrongs I’ve done, and you’re punishing me. That’s all right, and if that’s the reason, I hope I’m getting my sins removed—if that’s the case. There’s surely some good coming out of it because You’re in control of it. I’m not speaking facetiously. I have enough faith and trust in You to know You wouldn’t harm me needlessly. So go on with whatever You’re doing, and please give me the patience and strength to endure it.

I only wish they didn’t serve as such a distraction to active service to You. You do give me clear hours each day in which I can chant my japa and write something. I’m grateful it’s not as bad as it used to be. I wish I could pay it less attention and not complicate our relationship with why You give me headaches. I think I’m pretty good about it, don’t You? I mean I can’t give it less attention when it comes, and I can’t be more active in service—but I don’t hold it as an impediment to my love for You. The headaches have nothing to do with us. I love You despite them, regardless of them. Some of Your devotees have leprosy, Parkinson’s disease, and big-time illnesses that really threaten their ability to relate to You, like Alzheimer’s disease or cancer. Some diseases are life threatening. Mine is life threatening in the sense that it threatens the quality of my life and takes away my life for hours a day. But it is not an all-consuming, extremely painful disease. I’m diseased, but I’m getting off lightly.

Birth, death, disease and old age. We get all four when we come to this material world. I never should have come here. I don’t want to come back again.

Please forgive me for being so affected by my headaches and for seeking pain relief. I’m weak. But I still love You regardless. Now I’d better stop writing and just lie back and relax. I’ll pray to You without the written word. I’ll pray in the silence of the pain and be thankful it’s not worse. I’ll wait for a clearing stage when I can be more comfortable and enjoy my life with You, reading a book. And in the meantime, I’ll keep steady and faithful. You give me that strength, and I thank You.

10:57 A.M.

I thank Lord Krishna for the gift of writing. I don’t claim to be a great writer, but I derive much satisfaction from the act of writing. I value the act of communication through the written word. I love my appreciative readers, and they love me. I put so much of myself into writing that I have been demeaned as a “virtual person.” That is, some say I deny the flesh-and-blood contact in favor of exchanging words, and that is a kind of cop-out. I have practiced writing since I was seventeen years old, when I began keeping a diary. I remember telling a Lower East Side acquaintance that I valued writing over life itself. He retorted that this was a Pyrric victory. A Pyrric victory refers to an ancient battle in which the losses of the victorious party were so heavy that theirs was hardly a victory at all. Writing became the most important thing in my life. In the years before I met the Swami, it was my religion. Writing and smoking marijuana. When I met Prabhupada, I immediately gave up taking all intoxication, and I was prepared to renounce writing also. I misunderstood that writing was all a product of the false ego. My writing prior to Krishna consciousness was false ego, was Godless, although it contained the search for God. In fact, in the year before I met Swamiji, I did start believing in God again, in an eclectic way. I devoured the Mentor paperback series of books on religions of the East, the Upanisads, Bhagavad-gita, the Tao Te Ching, and even the New Testament. John Coltrane’s record A Love Supreme and the notes he wrote on the back of the album influenced me to believe in God after my lapsed Catholicism, which I gave up in my first year of college. I had become an atheist, but in the early 1960s, I returned to religion.

But my fervent practice of life, more than any belief in religion, was to be a writer. When I renounced writing as false ego, I burned all my manuscripts—my novellas and stories and poems—in the incinerator at 26 Second Ave. I told Hayagriva about it, and he asserted to me that he wasn’t going to give up writing, but he was going to write for Krishna! Wow! It hit me. That was the thing to do. And so I started writing doctrinaire essays for Back to Godhead magazine, and even poems written in the New York City free verse style—which Swamiji approved! I also took notes from Prabhupada’s lectures, paraphrasing his talks in my own voice. For twelve years that was the only kind of writing I did—essays and straight scriptural presentation. After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, I gradually began writing more personally. I published a book called Living With the Scriptures, in which I preached the philosophy through personal anecdotes from my life. In the early 1990s, I wrote Shack Notes, which was composed of free writing and was a giant step forward in a direction I have continued in ever since. Right now I’m satisfied writing the daily journal and publishing it on the website. I’m not working on any other books. The Gita-nagari Press is in the process of printing many books I’ve already written. Writing continues to be my “religion,” my dharma, my main service, and I hope it is acceptable to Guru and Krishna.

His Religion

Writing is his religion,

he’s an altar boy.

He’s a high priest of

the personal voice.

Krishna made him that way

and he’s happy to be so.

With pen in hand,

he plows his furrow.

He grows his corn and tomatoes

and flowers and even trees.

He prays to God in writing.

He plays for fun in poems.

He reaches out “to tell everyone

you meet about Krishna”

With a rolling ball pen.

The sampradaya he lives in

endorses writing as a vital

way. “Write one line,

write something every day.”

And he hopes it will last

after he’s gone, to be read

by people of the future—

how’s that for a potent

way to preach!

Markham, Ontario

Involve the Experts

Devotion to the Supreme is an open expression of love. There are multiple ways to express it. There is a need to practically regulate the various expressions. Here’s an example:

Chaitanya the great master of chanting, out of his sheer popularity, was receiving many many offerings of personally prepared food by his followers. Upon receiving a prep his assistant was asked to store it and He would eat it later. As a monk Chaitanya regulated eating and did not succumb to the level of gluttony. He did not want to show disrespect to the cooks and donors so He procrastinated the eating. When the stalk pile of food increased to an extent that it was ridiculous and followers hounded the assistant for Chaitnaya’s opinion on the taste of their prep, His assistant became anxious. “I don’t want to tell white lies, that you had eaten and liked what they cooked.”

So Chaitanya agreed to sample the food and of course enjoyed the love of His people through eating what they had prepared. The job got done and “feedback” reached the donors ears. Thank God, the sanyassi (monk), Chaitanya, had a friend to regulate things expertly.

In relation to this story I have seen over the years many people come to offer their devotions to the various temples. In each community you have a number of people who all want to contribute to the temple’s décor based on individual taste. If there is no regulator you end up with a hodge –podge of interior decorations. Seeing this trend I had decided that one person or small committee be assigned to encourage the participation of others in their devotion to the cause but one decision must be made as to colour, accessories, ornaments, furniture, etc. otherwise you have a mess. So an artistic committee was formed and the matter was settled for the temple.

The evening brought us to the home of Subha Vilas where a few of us more senior devotees were asked to tell of vintage tales of devotion. Nostalgia seems to warm hearts.

0 Km.

By Dina Dayala dasa

The position of head of an educational institution grounded on spiritual values is compatible with the sannyasa ashrama. Srila Prabhupada wrote that sannyasis could teach in varnashrama Colleges.

Toronto, Ontario

Back up Person

The weather’s nature is to be transitional. It then transitions the surface of the earth by making it either dry or wet, thick with vegetation or barren, eroded or piled.

In testing an urban ravine for walking I concluded along with Brahmacari Devadatta , and Brahmacarini Nitai Priya, a female devotee from Vancouver, my walking mates for the day, that this little haven of a forest was muddy and too icy. Staying street level where it was flat and dry was obviously the favorable route.

Tomorrow our choice or opportunity will change. Time transitions all things in this world. It alters circumstances.

In the evening Devadatta and Nitai Priya and myself sat down to watch a recording of a past dramatical production when I worked with the youth in Houston just as we had done the night before in viewing Nitai Priya’s direction for the play, “Vamana”, something I had written. She has recently arrived form Mayapur India where she worked extremely hard at piecing together this production of a duration of 45 minutes. I was scheduled to do this myself but because of circumstances controlled by time (an infectious catfish wound) I was forced to cancel the trip to the land of Dharma.

It is very satisfying knowing that someone can function and preserve a certain style of presentation should I be absent. Her attitude is, “the show must go on!” And so it did.

3 Km

Inspired by my readings of "Contemplative Prayer" and "Contemplation In A World Of Action" by Thomas Merton

It is an unnecessary but prevalent debate for those devoted to the spiritual path: The tug between the contemplative life and the active life. Does focus on one preclude the other?

In Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton looks closely at this issue within the context of his own tradition with lessons and thoughts to be gathered for all of us on the path.

Merton's mature reception to this debate is even and sure-handed from his own realization. He understands that the contemplative mood fuels the active mood, and vice versa, and mature devotees following in Prabhupada's footprints should also understand this very deeply

Merton uses the example of St. Gregory as someone who could not quite find this balance in his own personal practice. St. Gregory spent much of his time and energy in works of charity for, in his own words, "the servants of the servants of God", and his own understanding of the contemplative mood has depth, as Merton quotes:

"The contemplative life is to retain with all one's mind the love of God and neighbor but to rest from exterior motion and cleave only to the desire of the Maker, that the mind may now take no pleasure in doing anything, but having spurned all cares may be aglow to see the face of its Creator: so that it already knows how to bear with sorrow the burden of the corruptible flesh, and with all desires to seek to join the hymn-singing choirs of angels, to mingle with the heavenly citizens and to rejoice at its everlasting incorruption in the sight of God."
However, St. Gregory encouraged a mood of deep regret and anguish in breaking from this contemplation to move into the active sphere. As Merton writes of this mood:

"The vocation of the monk was to stay in his monastery and pray, and when he was called forth from the cloister, as he often was, to engage in church affairs, he was expected to go forth with weeping and lamentation, which he quite often sincerely did."

Of course, Prabhupada would not, in any shape or form, have stood for this mood. Our active efforts in his mission must be filled with enthusiasm, confidence, and patience. We should never be sorry to reach out to people to give them Krsna Consciousness, for it is our most sacred duty and the most sublime order we receive from Guru.

Merton show his understanding of the balance between the contemplative and the active when he writes:

"The active life which is germane to the present existence of man in the world always demands the attention even of those called to contemplation...Both are, in fact, demanded by charity, since man is commanded to love both God and his neighbor. Both necessarily must be combined in any earthly vocation, whether it be the life of the pastor of souls or of the contemplative monk."

In our weekly Gita study here at the Bhaktivedanta Ashram, HG Rasanath Prabhu mentioned that for the extroverted person, one must find time to focus inwards, getting comfortable spending time alone with one's thoughts, and for the introverted person, it is necessary to become more engaged in action and in relationships.

The idea is to find the healthy balance, and to thus become a complete, whole, loving servant of the servants. To follow Prabhupada's example, we try to preach until the very end, and these active efforts are deeply absorbed in the mood of prayer to make up for our own shortcomings against our false ego and against the vagaries of the Kali-Yuga.

And we have numerous examples of those devotees who live a very rich life of introspection and contemplation, and we must also strive to develop this part of our sadhana, going deep into our attachment to the Holy Name and to the pastimes of Krsna and His devotees.

A few more quotes from Merton on this balance. He writes:

"Without virtue there can be no real and lasting contemplation. Without the labor of discipline there can be no rest in love"

And Merton quotes from Peter:

"These things are not done in shadow or in night, but in the day, in the light, in the sun of justice; for he snores in the night of vice cannot know the light of contemplation."

This of course reminds me of verse 69 from Chapter 2 of the Gita: What is night for all beings is the time of awakening for the self-controlled; and the time of awakening for all beings is night for the introspective sage.

By Your servants of The Holy Name

The idea is to gather as if we were all in one temple room with many altars. The kirtan leader may be in front of another altar, but the kirtan will be the same all over the world in front of all the altars. The sankirtan will be the same kirtan.

By Garuda dasa (jr)

One may ask: “Why not charge for yoga classes?” My strategy has been: to advertise and teach for free, because, from my experience, if I widely advertise the classes as free,vastly more people seem to come through the doors.

In our complex world we sometimes lose sight of the fact that basic human needs are simple, and that needs and wants (desires) are two different things. Our "comfort zones" have expanded to gargantuan proportions.

read more

Date: March 1st, 2009
Verse: Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.24.16
Speaker: HH Kadamba Kanana Swami

vedaham adyam purusam avatirnam sva-mayaya bhutanam sevadhim deham bibhranam kapilam mune

TRANSLATION: O Kardama, I know that the original Supreme Personality of Godhead has now appeared as an incarnation by His internal energy. He is the bestower of all desired by the living entities, and He has now assumed the body of Kapila Muni.

read more

Matchless Gifts Friday Night Bhajans

Date:March 4th, 2009 (Bhakti-tirtha Swami’s Vyasa Puja)
Verse:Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.24.19
Speaker:HH Kavicandra Swami

ayam siddha-ganadhisah sankhyacaryaih susammatah loke kapila ity akhyam ganta te kirti-vardhanah

TRANSLATION: Your son will be the head of all the perfected souls. He will be approved by the acaryas expert in disseminating real knowledge, and among the people He will be celebrated by the name Kapila. As the son of Devahuti, He will increase your fame.

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"unfettered capitalism. . . .turned out to be an idol, and like all idols it has now demanded its human sacrifice."

Read the whole article here.

Lyn Withers runs the successful cookery school Cooking with Company in Wauchope, near Port Macquarie on Australia's Northern Central East Coast.

I recently spent my third weekend there cooking (and sharing my very self) with 22 eager cookery aficionados.

Our Asian Banquet was quite a treat, with the menu as follows:

The Asian Banquet Table

Fragrant, Tomato-laced Hot & Sour Masoor Dal Soup (Rasam) South Indian Lemon Rice with Cashews & Fresh Coconut Cream-infused Panir, Fresh Chili and Dried Fruit-filled Croquettes (Malai Kofta) Gujarati Fenugreek-scented Pumpkin Curry With Flame-toasted Pappadams Herbed Fresh Tomato and Yogurt Salad (Raita) Fresh Crisp and Puffed Fried Wheat Breads (Poories) Indonesian Fruit Skewers With Peanut, Lime & Chili Dipping Sauce (Rujak Manis)

A very pleasant culinary exercise! The pumpking curry was my best ever, steaming hot from the wok.

Soft, crispy poories wrapped around saucy morsels of tender, sweet fenugreek-scented, chili- and lime-drenched pumpkin nuggets. A divine experience!

Good news: we have upgraded our yoga booking process!

• You can now very easily cancel a booking. Just type your booking ID number into the cancellation box on the yoga page. We will email you a voucher that you can use to book another session at your convenience.
• No more needing to book the day before. You can now make a booking on the day of the session as long as it is before 4:30pm. Cancellations can also be done up until 4:30pm on the session day.

A new three-month course in Mayapur on Bhagavad-gita, Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sanskrit Bhagavata-sparsa is a new three-month course offered to you under the direction of Sri Gopiparanadhana Prabhu by the Srimad-Bhagavata Vidyapitham. The course is designed to(1) help students become familiar with the Bhagavad-gita and a portion of the Srimad-Bhagavatam,(2) introduce them to Sanskrit writing, pronunciation and basic spoken Sanskrit(3) teach them Sanskrit through the text of the Bhagavad-gita as recommended by Srila Prabhupada. The course will be conducted from 1 June to 31 August 2009. Tuition is free for those who have been admitted as students. There are separate classes for men and women. For more information, see theprospectus. Devotees interested in becoming students of the Bhagavata-sparsa program can e-mail Vidvan Gauranga dasa at vidvan.gauranga@gmail.comfor an application form and further details.

For your pleasure please find a copy of the latest journal of BCEC. This serves as an international preaching report for BCEC.Thank you.Your servant,Nrsimhananda das

The Sunday Feast and Holi Celebration recording can be viewed by clicking the image below.

As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our new ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.

I can hear the raindrops, pitter-pattering on the roof
"Springtime is coming", they sing, "and we are the proof!"
To soft gentle raindrops the snowflakes have turned
And brought with it weather for which we have yearned
A few weeks ago the snow was steadily falling
And with it a wind icy cold, whistling and howling
But with each passing day it gets warmer and warmer
The wind has died down and the air is much calmer
The blankets of snow are melting away
The sun has come out and chased off the grey
The earth may be muddy, but the grass is green
The roads may be slushy, but the air is clean
The tulips are blooming - loud and bright
Daffodils and hyacinths - such a welcome sight!

Radha and Krsna begin Their spring sport
He throws on Her colours once She's been caught
Vermillion and yellow, blue, pink and green
Such an explosion of colour has never been seen
A festival of beauty, of joy and of love
Bursts forth in the colours that fall from above
And just like in Vraja springtime, does bring
A time of devotion - for Krsna we we'll dance and we'll sing

So winter is over and here is the proof -
The pitter-patter of raindrops falling on the roof

- P.S Happy Holi!!

We must be very clear: there is no intelligence or plan implied by the concept of evolution. There is no purpose or guide behind it.

Where does the idea that "evolution = atheism" come from?

The quote above is not from an atheist pushing his "God does not exist agenda". This is not someone using empirical science to push a metaphysical attack on religion. Rather it comes from a Hare Krishna, a fundamentalist, seeking to prove, or at least make a case for the existence of God through empirical arguments [source].

However, a quote like that would not be out of place coming out of the mouth of Professor Richard Dawkins.

How has this evolution=atheism agenda become so entrenched that evangelists on both sides of the "God exists/doesn't exist" divide unquestioningly accept it?

Can we question this sacred cow dogma? Or do we risk being attacked by faithful fundamentalists on both sides if we dare to raise this question?

Argumentum Ad Hominem

One commenter on this site had the following to say:

All the so-called evidence has been manipulated to fool people because they have an social agenda. The only people that support evolution either have a social agenda, or they are not very well educated with the reality of the problems of evolutionary theory.

According to this narrative, evolutionary theory originates from people who generated it for the purpose of fulfilling a social agenda, rather than from the empirical scientific method of generating a hypothesis and testing its strength against previously observed phenomena, and its strength in making testable predictions.

Since that time it has been propagated by people who either have a social agenda, or else have been fooled.

Here's my problem with that:

Science means successive approximation. If there is another coherent theory that explains the observed phenomena (dinosaurs, multiple strata of lifeforms of different but related species over millions of years, etc...), and makes useful and testable predictions, and does so better than evolution does, then what is it?

Scientists in general do not "believe in evolution" because of a social agenda. They accept it as the current best working theory in the absence of another more powerful one.

Religious creation narratives simply do not cut it. The Jewish/Christian narrative does not account for dinosaurs, and does not account for the age of the Earth.

An early attempt by the Church to censure evolution because it contradicted that empirical model, and thus threatened the empirical underpinnings of their religion, pushed evolution to an atheistic conclusion.

Since "belief in God" was predicated on the Bible in Western countries, and evolution undercut the empirical model of the Bible, it also undercut the metaphysical conclusions. The more the Church tried to hold on to the empirical narrative, the more they lost ground on the metaphysical narrative.

Attacking evolution on the grounds that it has a social agenda, coming from people who are launching this attack precisely because they have a social agenda, is kind of ironic - and hypocritical.

If there is a better empirical explanation, then let's hear it: a coherent narrative that explains the observed phenomena and makes testable predictions.

Otherwise, evolution wins as the current scientific model.

However, it's not at all intrinsically atheistic. Religionists like to cast it as atheistic in order to use their metaphysical authority to make up for their lack of an empirical narrative to counter it with.

Evolution is an explanation of a mechanism. It talks about how things happen. It can't explain why in terms of an ultimate cause. However, it has become linked with materialism - a metaphysical idea that matter is a self-sufficient ultimate causal agent.

How did that happen? Because, as I mentioned above, religionists forced it into that position in order to protect their empirical models of creation. Atheists were then happy to co-opt it as their own "creation narrative".

So Christians have 6 day creation and a 6000 year old Earth. Hindus have flying mountains and oceans of milk, and the atheists get handed evolution (and science) on a golden platter.

Good one.

Beware the Believers

Is evolution true? Do I believe?

As Richard Dawkins says: "Beware the believers", and that goes for both sides of the fence.

Evolution is a theory. Every theory has holes, because it's not perfect. As an explanation of observed phenomena and ability to make testable predictions it's the current best fit model. If you have a better one, feel free to spell it out and I'll take a look at it - I am not a believer.

Maybe it is wrong and it just looks like it accounts for all the things it does. However, and here is the rub: there is as yet no other coherent narrative that accounts for things as much as evolution does.

When a better one comes along, it will take over as the dominant scientific paradigm.

The only reason that evolution = atheism is because religionists insist that their creation narrative must be true otherwise God doesn't exist.

Protecting the creation stories at the expense of science

In order to hold onto the empirical aspects of their narrative religionists have fought and demonized science and scientists at every stage.

If the Church had their way, we would be living on a flat earth at the center of the universe.

Galileo, who discovered and taught that the Earth rotates around the Sun, and not vice versa, was found guilty of heresy and placed under permanent house arrest. His books were banned for nearly 100 years. I'm sure that at the time the Church characterized him as "having a social agenda".

What was happening was that the empirical model promoted by the Church was being undercut by observation and the scientific method. The response? Demonize the scientist and suppress the science.

But don't take my word for it - read for yourself the Church of England's official apology to Darwin, published this year, where they admit that this is what happened.

If not Evolution, then what?

I have to be honest with you - I can't even find a coherent alternative empirical model being promoted by people who opposed evolution.

On this blog Shiva das has been strongly arguing against evolution, but for whatever reason he seems reticent to share an alternative narrative for me to consider.

Apparently, I am miseducated or ill-motivated in accepting evolution as the current best fit, and I should instead think.... [this part is missing]

This doesn't leave me with anything to evaluate, and just turns into an unfounded attack, as most religious attacks on evolution these days seem to be.

For the fundamentalist, evolution is not true because, for them, it "can't be true". For me, evolution could be true, and I have an open mind and am prepared to evaluate different coherent narratives of physical mechanisms.

Krishna Consciousness is meant to be "the positive alternative". Krishna says that param drstva nivartate - by experiencing a higher taste you automatically give up the lower taste. OK, so where is that alternative narrative to evolution? The compelling coherent explanation that explains the observed phenomena and makes useful and testable predictions?

Without presenting this, simply making the equation that if you accept evolution as the best fit working model of empirical science you are an atheist just doesn't work for me.

Conclusion

My observation is that religionists oppose evolution because the social authority of their metaphysical narrative (about the existence and nature of God) relies on their ability to also deliver empirical explanations about the physical universe.

Because evolution contradicts these empirical explanations, they oppose it. However, due to the limited amount of data covered by religious empirical explanations religionists are unable to present an opposing empirical explanation of the same scope as evolution.

Evolution could be wrong. But it doesn't have to be atheistic. Trying to make it out to be so is not just an attack on a scientific theory, it's an attack on the scientific method.

Last word to Srila Prabhupada:

"The scientific discoveries of the material world can also be equally engaged in carrying out His order. "

- Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam 1.5.36

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.8 - The conditioning of modes of material nature leads to illusory perceptions.

Googled myself yesterday (go on, admit it, you've all indulged) and found this nice little article.

I even followed the link to Amazon and read the customer reviews of the cookbook. An edifying way to spend an evening.

Sleeping also, the dog is also sleeping on the side of a street without any difficulty. And the king is sleeping on the palace, very nice apartment. And a Krsna conscious person, he's also sleeping. But there are different grades. The Krsna conscious person is sleeping, chanting Hare Krsna. This can be done. If you practice this Hare Krsna, even in sleeping you'll chant Hare Krsna. Everything depends on practice.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 -- Boston, April 28, 1969

Sleeping also, the dog is also sleeping on the side of a street without any difficulty. And the king is sleeping on the palace, very nice apartment. And a Krsna conscious person, he's also sleeping. But there are different grades. The Krsna conscious person is sleeping, chanting Hare Krsna. This can be done. If you practice this Hare Krsna, even in sleeping you'll chant Hare Krsna. Everything depends on practice.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.5.2 -- Boston, April 28, 1969

1971 March 16: "Print 200,000 BTGs without fail. Each center must collect at least 25 cents per copy as donation. Henceforward this policy should be followed amongst the temples."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1974 March 16: "Our movement is unique, not just India, but from all countries they are joining and becoming Vaisnavas by chanting Hare Krsna and refraining from the pillars of sinful life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 March 16: "I am now especially concerned to distribute prasadam all over India. If the people do not even have sufficient food how they will be able to receive spiritual instructions."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1966 March 16:
"Dashami. In the evening there was meeting. The attendance was three only. Income $3.00 only by contribution. Joan was kind enough to get my sixteen sets from Paragon Book Gallery. The books are brought and kept in stock."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 16: "When India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan, there was good opportunity for the Hindu Indians and the state religion should have been declared Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 16: "My Guru Maharaja advised me to give more stress on publishing books and magazines.Temple opening is a secondary consideration. I am trying to open some temples in the Western countries because there are none."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 16: "When the large Deities are installed, the small Deities should be worshiped as Vijaya Vigraha which means They may be taken out with Sankirtana Party, not always, but conveniently."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1969 March 16: "If we have got our own press then we shall print at least four books yearly, and 50,000 magazines every month."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

I love festivals!Festivals are such times of inspiration where all devotees work together for the pleasure of the Lord. We get a lot more association with devotees, during festivals and this acts as a gauge on how far we have progressed in our own spiritual life. Association with devotees who are pure at heart, coupled with service and chanting gradually cleanses the mirror of our heart 'Ceto

via Nalakuvara das:

A belief in God is deeply embedded in the human brain, which is programmed for religious experiences, according to a United States study.

Scientists searching for the neural "God spot", which is supposed to control religious belief, believe several areas of the brain form the biological foundations of religious belief.

The researchers said their findings supported the idea that the brain had evolved to be sensitive to any form of belief that improved the chances of survival, which could explain why a belief in God and the supernatural became so widespread in human evolutionary history.

"Religious belief and behaviour are a hallmark of human life, with no accepted animal equivalent, and found in all cultures," said Professor Jordan Grafman, from the US National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, near Washington.

"Our results are unique in demonstrating that specific components of religious belief are mediated by well-known brain networks and they support contemporary psychological theories that ground religious belief within evolutionary-adaptive cognitive functions."

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Scientists are divided on whether religious belief has a biological basis.

Some evolutionary theorists have suggested that Darwinian natural selection may have put a premium on individuals if they were able to use religious belief to survive hardships that may have overwhelmed those with no religious convictions.

Others have suggested that religious belief is a side effect of a wider trait in the human brain to search for coherent beliefs about the outside world. Religion and belief in God, they argue, are just a manifestation of this intrinsic, biological phenomenon that makes the human brain so intelligent and adaptable.

The latest study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved analysing the brains of volunteers, who had been asked to think about religious and moral problems and questions. For the analysis, researchers used a functional MRI machine, which can identify the most active regions of the brain.

They found that people of different religious persuasions and beliefs, including atheists, tended to use the same electrical circuits in the brain when solving a moral conundrum as well as when dealing with issues related to God.

The study found that several areas of the brain were involved in religious belief, one within the frontal lobes of the cortex - which are unique to humans - and another in the more evolutionary-ancient regions deeper inside the brain, which humans share with apes and other primates, Professor Grafman said.

"There is nothing unique about religious belief in these brain structures. Religion doesn't have a 'God spot' as such, instead it's embedded in a whole range of other belief systems in the brain that we use every day," Professor Grafman said.

Article continues at The New Zealand Herald

1974 March 16: "I am now especially concerned to distribute prasadam all over India. If the people do not even have sufficient food how they will be able to receive spiritual instructions."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1966 March 16:
"Dashami. In the evening there was meeting. The attendance was three only. Income $3.00 only by contribution. Joan was kind enough to get my sixteen sets from Paragon Book Gallery. The books are brought and kept in stock."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 16: "When India was divided into Hindustan and Pakistan, there was good opportunity for the Hindu Indians and the state religion should have been declared Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 16: "My Guru Maharaja advised me to give more stress on publishing books and magazines.Temple opening is a secondary consideration. I am trying to open some temples in the Western countries because there are none."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 16: "If we have got our own press then we shall print at least four books yearly, and 50,000 magazines every month."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 16: "When the large Deities are installed, the small Deities should be worshiped as Vijaya Vigraha which means They may be taken out with Sankirtana Party, not always, but conveniently."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 March 16: "Print 200,000 BTGs without fail. Each center must collect at least 25 cents per copy as donation. Henceforward this policy should be followed amongst the temples."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1974 March 16: "Our movement is unique, not just India, but from all countries they are joining and becoming Vaisnavas by chanting Hare Krsna and refraining from the pillars of sinful life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Undercover animal rights investigator “Pete” with pig he befriended while secretly filming abuse that can be seen Monday on HBO’s “Death on a Factory Farm.”

Working on a farm that raises animals for food is not the ideal job for a vegan.

But cracking down on animal cruelty and exposing the suffering is a rewarding career for one vegan undercover animal rights investigator, who goes by the name “Pete.”

“It’s cool to do something, document it, and blow the lid off it,” said the fearless animal activist, who has spent the last seven years secretly recording the atrocities in U.S. puppy mills and factory farms.

His work documenting the abuse on a central Ohio pig farm will appear in the HBO documentary “Death on a Factory Farm,” which airs Monday.

The powerful film follows the undercover investigation of Wiles Hog Farm by the animal rights group The Humane Farming Association and the resulting court case against some of the farm’s practices.

Warning: Barring the final scene, this film is not pretty. Wearing a hidden camera, Pete spent six weeks secretly videotaping the horrors of abuse: squealing piglets being hurled like bags of rice into overcrowded crates, a sickly piglet “euthanized” by slamming it against the wall, and a sick hog being hung by a chain from a fork-lift until it choked to death.

“Ignorance is bliss, but people need to see this up close and personal,” said Pete, whose previous undercover work was the basis for the 2006 HBO documentary, “Dealing Dogs,” which exposed the abuses that took place at the Martin Creek Kennel, in Arkansas, which was eventually shut down.

His work this year included grueling stints at a turkey factory farm and two California egg farms, which highlighted the plight of hens raised in battery cages.

Those investigations helped lead to last year’s passage of California’s Proposition2, which bans the cruel confinement of veal calves, breeding pigs, and egg-laying hens in tiny crates and cages on industrial factory farms.

“When people see cruelty with their own eyes, it leads to policy reforms and other positive changes for animals,” said Michael Markarian, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, which sponsored the bill.

Getting the goods, however, is dirty work. The low-paying job is risky, highly emotional and desperately lonely, says Pete, who is never seen without dark sunglasses, has twice legally changed his name and hasn’t had a date in years.

Maintaining his cover also requires sacrificing his morals and learning to shut down his emotions. The devout vegan will even eat meat on the job and will harm an animal for the sake of getting on tape what’s needed in court to end the abusive practices.

Still, he does what he has to help change laws and people’s perceptions.

“There’s always times I have to shake my head and think I can’t believe this is in front of me,” he said. “But we have to change ourselves first if we expect there to be change around us.”

The Toby Project will offer free spay/neuter surgery in the Bronx this weekend to pet owners who can show proof of public assistance. The upcoming dates are tomorrow at Capuchin Way; Friday at Edenwald Housing Development, and Sunday, March 22, at Capuchin Way. For more info go to www.thetobyproject.org.

Taken From: http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/03/13/2009-03-13_he_hogties_abuse_on_hbo_documentary_deat.html

Tagged: animal rights, documentary, factory farming, HBO, vegan

HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj remembers a time when Srila Prabhupada imparted to him the importance of counting his rounds. Tagged: Videos

I finally got around to uploading the few pictures and one movie I took at our Gaura Purnima celebration here in Austin this year. Our celebration consisted of kirtans, bhajans (Sri Krsna Chaitanya Prabhu), a discourse on Lord Caitanya (given by HDG Sriman Sankarshan das Adhikari), moon rise arati,  and an opulent feast prepared by [...]

We are calling all youth to come this Saturday March 21 from 1pm till 3pm help to clean up the temple. We will be cleaning and re-organizing one room on the balcony and the dry items area beside the kitchen.

If cleaning is not your thing, there is also cutting up vegetables for the Food Expo which the temple is a part of that weekend. The temple is expected to distribute hundreds of plates using the vegetables that we will be helping with!

There will be treats for all the volunteers that come. If you are interested please email the Pandava Sena youth group at info@psena.ca

What comes to sadhana and chanting- the last few weeks haven't been particularly good, but some small realizations have been there.
When we go on chanting the holy name we should gradually develop more understanding about ourselves. What is the gross body....what is the mind....what is intelligence....what is false ego and what is our real self, the spirit soul.
Sometimes in some a semi-sleep condition, we can especially clearly see these different levels. During our sleep, the mind is not controlled and our mind may start to meditate on different kali-yuga activites like taking intoxicants or having sex life.
It is sometimes said that dreams are one kind of parameter to our Krsna consciousness - if we are strongly connected to the spiritual energy, we are Krsna conscious even in our dreams...if not, we will see our anarthas and attachments in our dreams.
Just recently I woke in a middle of the night to kind of semi-sleep and was in some non-devotional meditations, but slowly I started to realize that it is just my mind and not myself - I was an observer....then slowly I started chant and soon woke up.
It made me think that I am so lucky that I have the maha-mantra by which to control and purify my mind - most of the living entities are completely obsessed by the three modes of nature and forced to follow the impulses of their minds.

We sometimes inquire from our conscience. Conscience says, "No, don't do this." But still we do it. Still we do... That is our avidya. Because we do not know, in ignorance, in spite of the Supreme Soul, Supersoul is forbidding, "Don't do this," still, we shall do it. That is called anumanta. We cannot do anything without the sanction of the Supersoul, but when we insist that "I must do it," then He says, "All right, you do it, but you'll suffer your sequence. My word is, Supersoul order is, that 'You give up all this nonsense. Simply surrender unto Me. I will give you all protection.' " But no, that he'll not do.

Srila Prabhupada Lecture, Bhagavad-gita 13.4, Bombay, September 27, 1973

Our life can be summarized in two words: challenge - response.

We have the capacity to subordinate our impulses, moods, feelings and conditions, to values based on principles or natural laws.

Gopalhari dasa: Boise Idaho, New Biharvan, is beautifully situated in the peaceful Treasure Valley. Our temple has a stable grihasta community and was established in 1986.

Padmapani das: After being offline for a few months, The Prabhupada Connection is back by popular demand. We've received many letters urging us to continue and so we hope to serve you for a long time to come. Please drop by and enjoy Srila Prabhupada's online association.

BY JEYANTHY PILLAI SUBANG JAYA, MALAYSIA - My children were so very excited to return after their maiden sojourn trip to Mayapur this year. Not that Mayapur was boring….far from it. They had an amazing time. It was like living in Srila Prabhupada’s books that we had painstakingly preached to the children all these years.  They [...]

By Paramatma Dasi

Wednesday, March 11th, at the Aula Magna of Centro Studi Bhaktivedanta Foundation, Shriman Matsyavatara Prabhu held the second session of his course titled “How to Project and Make your Dreams come true”.

By briefly going back to the topics discussed in the previous session, the speaker continued and further developed this theme that is complex and determinant for everyone’s life. It is essential to understand, as it is stated in the Upanishads, that what we become is in accordance with what we desire. People’s minds and hearts – Shriman Matsyavatara Prabhu explained – are filled with images that work against them and fulfil their negative prophecies. The psychic structure, in fact, does not distinguish if the person is dreaming, thinking, fearing with his eyes open or shut, rather it elaborates images that pass through the mind and “lay out a plan” according to them.

Automated, rigorous and repetitious thoughts clip the wings of creativity and planning and of the capability of dreaming and realizing ones dreams. Trust, faith and mainly fervent devotion, on the contrary, produce serenity, courage and Love for God’s Creation and His Creatures.

Our fears may be justified (with an objective cause), or unjustified. In the latter case they are often due to indecision, doubts and habits that are trigged in the individual behaviour. Such fears induce the subject to create alibis to hang on to, favouring the development of psychophysical illnesses and most of all, obstructing the realization of dreams.

As already explained in the first session, even constructive day dreaming needs planning. However, it is not enough. Priority is another fundamental ingredient. Too many dreams, maybe even in contradiction with each other, cannot be planned at the same time. If we did so, we would only feel deprived of our energies and we would not obtain what we desire. A dream which has good chances to become reality should be well defined, have an evolutionary orientation and a plan for realization, which can be integrated on the way. The engine power, in any case, consists of intensive desire. If desire is weak and lukewarm, even the less relevant obstacles will prevail.

In this occasion, as in the previous one, the time spent entertaining questions and answers was very intense, and became an opportunity to develop relevant topics. Among the discussed and developed subjects were: taking advantage of failures to start a new journey with more clearness and vitality, unconscious fears, dreams, karma and divine willpower, wishing for dreams realization and pessimism, states of consciousness and reality levels, and at last, the variable influence of the planets on human beings.

The evening finished with a happy ending, a delicious dessert, and with the proposal to meet at the next appointment on Wednesday, March 18th at the same place, at 8,30 PM, for the third and last session of this course.

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

HG Narasingha Gurudas (a.k.a Martin Lyons) was gracious enough to share with us a few excerpts from his upcoming book, in which he plans to establish the Krsna Conscious positions of evolution and creation in opposition to some of the fallacious dogmas of modern religion and science.

Here is the second excerpt he shares with us, about a little "planned obsolescence"

Thirteenth Argument: Planned Obsolescence

One of the innumerable natural phenomena that we take for granted and thoughtlessly assume to be just another product of evolution is the aging process. This process really begins at the very beginning of every creature’s life. Immediately there is development, or maturing, whether from insect egg to larva to pupa to winged adult; or from seed to seedling to mature plant, producing first flowers and then fruit; or with humans, where we mature from baby to toddler to youth to adulthood, middle-age and old-age.

At each and every stage, there are specific abilities and processes and functions and related cellular structures. It’s not a random or chaotic break-down, but there is a continual coordinated theme at each and every stage. We are each made up of so many individual cells, which are replaced so many times during our lives. And this detail quite distinguishes us as living organisms, as distinct from a machine such as a car, for example.

The molecular structure of a car is not in a constant state of flux, at least, not in the sense that ours is. Of course, there are some ongoing chemical changes, such as heat-stress, oxidation, rust, salt damage and so on. But the original atoms and molecules that form all its structures are not being replaced as the car ages. Just like its tires – as time goes on, they wear down, their outer layers are simply rubbed away by the roads, but fresh layers of rubber do not grow back.

This of course is quite opposite to our situation as living organisms. For example, the outermost layers of skin are constantly wearing off (much of the dust in our own homes is in fact the debris of our own cast-off skin cells), but new cells are being constantly created underneath. This would be incredible enough, that our bodies are replete with self-replicating living cellular ‘machines’ … but the replacement cells are not in fact replicas of the ones that they are replacing. They introduce new features, which provide for definite changes in function, purpose and appearance.

The cells that make up the bones of a baby allow for greater flexibility than the bones of a youth, although they are not as strong, nor do they need to be. Meanwhile, the bones of an old person are brittle and easily damaged. This cannot be compared to the rusting of a car’s metal body, for example, which is indeed much weaker in its ‘aged’ condition. And why not? Because rather than the individual cells having ‘rusted’ as it were, they have been altogether replaced by cells with a different molecular structure. Similarly with the ways our skin wrinkles and our hair silvers as we age. It is not that individual cells are shrinking and drying up or losing color; but that they are being replaced by cells which are following different design instructions, as passed down via the genes. And at the same time, there are accompanying changes occurring within all the different cells and organs of the body, so that there is a coordinated development whereby the body as a whole is still functioning as a single unit, but at a different level of efficiency. In other words, there is still a definite and distinct structure affording a definite and distinct level of functioning and purpose; and this changes so many times during our lives.

As already mentioned, aging does not merely include the declining stages of life, where the hair turns grey and falls out, and the skin, bones, muscles and organs in general weaken. But it includes all the stages, including the earlier growing and strengthening and reproductive stages, from pre-pubescence to pubescence to menopausal. The complexity and variety of biological precision, of structure and purpose, is utterly incomprehensible. And it cannot begin to be accounted for by some impersonal random and purposeless evolutionary process. For example, how and why should there be a process by which the genes and relevant cellular structures change the color of our hair from blonde or dark or whatever to white? How and why are all our cellular processes altered, with the replacement cells themselves being differently structured, so as to effect what we call the aging process?

We can all understand the natural need for aging – if we didn’t age and die, then we’d swiftly overpopulate. Of course, if we didn’t reproduce, then eternal life via continual self-replication of our cells wouldn’t be so much of a problem … although identical self-replication by the cells would also mean that we would never develop past our original form, there would never be any growth or development or change. It is truly amazing how this all fits together: growth, reproduction, aging, death – how it all makes such perfect sense. But when we’re talking about sense and purpose and reasons why things need to happen, we’re then referring to a world given by planning and design, as opposed to life randomly developing via some impersonal ‘evolutionary’ processes. It is very curious how so many scientists, possessed of rational intelligence, looking for reason(s) behind existence, believe that the answer is this random process that itself lacks any reason or purpose of its own.

We must be very clear: there is no intelligence or plan implied by the concept of evolution. There is no purpose or guide behind it. Even if we overlook that it cannot explain any ‘urge for survival,’ still, that urge itself does not explain the existence of inconceivably complex and precise mechanisms for effecting survival. So it’s all very well to recognize reasons for why such a mechanism as aging is necessary and natural … but evolution neither endorses nor offers any such reasons. We cannot begin to explain the aging processes by evolution, how and why they should exist, how the entire genetic informational system within an individual is constantly changing the overall cellular structure of each individual, and in such a coordinated and precise, non-chaotic manner.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

As an adjunct to this line of thought, consider how you might sometimes see woods and forests stretching away into the distance, perhaps when going on a long drive. Do you ever wonder how it is that those distant tree-lines are so even, how the trees are all growing to around the same height? What is maintaining that status quo?

Surely if everything was going on under the dictates of evolution, random mutation and natural selection, with everything vying for some new advantage, we would not expect to see so much conformity; rather, we would see so many individual trees going beyond the limitations of their species and growing taller and broader so as to catch the lion’s share of the sunlight and also to shoulder aside the competition for soil and space. In other words, there should be unrestrained growth and fecundity, filled with mutation upon mutation to facilitate greater survivability. But there isn’t. Rather, everything is held in check, it’s balanced: there’s a pattern – actually, there are so many patterns, one within another within another, all interconnected within a single great cosmic order. It’s not just a wild, uncontrolled and urgent race for survival, randomly bursting out every which way. It’s all regulated.

We understand that the genes are the agents for such regulation. The processes of aging also occur under their direction. The limits within which individual trees are growing are set by the genes. All species are conforming to specific directions as established by their respective genes. So that the million dollar question is then, again, what is regulating the genes, and giving them the directions they pass on?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2:37 PM I’m feeling settled about not traveling and not lecturing much. The headaches pretty much force me to be inactive, but it’s important I not bash myself about not playing the typical role of a sannyasi. Self-bashing isn’t healthy. Accept yourself for who you are. Being is more important than doing. I’m doing the things I’m capable of, mainly writing and chanting, so feel good about it. And tolerate the physical illness. It comes from Krishna, and I can’t accept any psychosomatic cause for it. Write your poem a day, if possible. That’s not something to feel wrong about. “Welcome back,” my editor remarked. part 11 read more →

The word "flutter" according to Random House Webster's is to wave, flap, or toss about: as banners fluttering in the breeze; to move in quick, irregular motions; vibrate; to beat rapidly, as the heart; to be tremulous or agitated; to go with irregular motions or aimless course as to flutter back and forth.

read more

Of the two energies manifest [spirit and dull matter], beings possessing living force [vegetables, grass, trees and plants] are superior to dull matter [stone, earth, etc.]. Superior to nonmoving plants and vegetables are worms and snakes, which can move. Superior to worms and snakes are animals that have developed intelligence. Superior to animals are human beings, and superior to human beings are ghosts because they have no material bodies. Superior to ghosts are the Gandharvas, and superior to them are the Siddhas. Superior to the Siddhas are the Kinnaras, and superior to them are the asuras. Superior to the asuras are the devatas, and of the devatas, Indra, the King of heaven, is supreme. Superior to Indra are the direct sons of Lord Brahmâ, sons like King Daksha, and supreme among Brahmâ's sons is Rudra. Since Rudra is the son of Lord Brahmâ, Brahmâ is considered superior, but Brahmâ is also subordinate to Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because I am inclined to the brâhmanas, the brâhmanas are best of all.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 5 Verses 21-22

Visiting the cows in the new Goshalla at Bhaktivedanta Manor letchmore heath, donated by George Harrison of the Beatles in the 1970’s

Tonight’s Sunday feast lecture was especially phenomenal.  My Guru Maharaj, His Divine Grace Sriman Sankarshan das Adhikari seemed to be especially fired up perhaps in light of their departure for yet another world preaching tour tomorrow morning. The verse Maharaj spoke on was Bhagavad-Gita 9:14 namely: satatam kirtayanto mam yatantas ca drdha-vratah namasyantas ca mam bhaktya nitya-yukta upasate Always chanting [...]

1970 March 15: "When I remember you all and George Harrison, I become very happy. Whenever this nice boy comes to our Temple, please receive him very nicely. Give him Prasadam and talk with him about Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 March 15: "If Members of Parliament join that will be a new chapter for us. India is the spiritual leader of the world but fools and rascals are trying to sabotage."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 March 15: "It is all right if you live independently but speak the philosophy exactly right as it comes in disciplic succession. You must speak Krsna Consciousness knowledge with no interpretation of your own."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 March 15: "History is also eternal. There is a saying, 'History repeats itself.' Why make a distinction between history and eternity? Things are happening eternally; this is history."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 March 15: "Your proposal is very nice. I want to take a party of sankirtana movement all over India if some of the leaders like you co-operate. Please come and see me at my Bombay center."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1966 March 15:
"Navami. In the evening five ladies and gentlemen visited. There was some talks. Mrs. Leblanc is now losing interest since she has learnt it that Bhagwat Geeta does not support monism. No income today."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 15: "No letter from you is useless for me - they are all important. And you can write as long a letter as you can. I shall read them carefully with attention in spite of my various duties always."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 15: "Your only business is how to become pure devotee of Lord Krishna. Then everything is all right. Please remember this truth always, and do your duty for strongly pushing on this Krishna Consciousness movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 15: "Govinda dasi misled me - there is no abundant supply of nice mangos. The fruit will not be ripened until late May or June so I shall soon be returning to the mainland for my other engagements."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 15: "When I remember you all and George Harrison, I become very happy. Whenever this nice boy comes to our Temple, please receive him very nicely. Give him Prasadam and talk with him about Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1966 March 15:
"Navami. In the evening five ladies and gentlemen visited. There was some talks. Mrs. Leblanc is now losing interest since she has learnt it that Bhagwat Geeta does not support monism. No income today."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 15: "No letter from you is useless for me - they are all important. And you can write as long a letter as you can. I shall read them carefully with attention in spite of my various duties always."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969