Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is loudly chanting, the holy name ecstatically dancing of its own on the theatrical stage of His tongue, as He counts the names (on knots) on a strip of kaupina cloth with His effulgent hand. His eyes are large and His long arms, which are all-embracing as He performs His pastimes, reach down to His knees. When will Sri Caitanyadeva become again visible on the path of my eyes?
Sri Caitanyastakam 5

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu becomes very blissful as He is chanting the holy names with upraised arms, drenching the ground with streams of His tears. His limbs are decorated with horripilation, which defeats the beauty of fresh kadamba blossoms. His entire body is moist with perspiration. When will Sri Caitanyadeva become again visible on the path of my eyes?
Sri Caitanyastakam 8

May Lord Gauranga bless your chanting and help you avoid the 10 offenses and be able to concentrate... feeling the purifying effects of the mantra.

Hare Krsna Prabhus,

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

As I mentioned before the Mayapura festival, the book distribution seminars by Bhrghupati Prabhu and myself would be available for hearing and downloading. They are on www.iskcondesiretree.com Go to the preaching catagory, book distribution, then audio. We hope they inspire you to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. The recordings are good except for the first few seconds on some of them you'll hear some crackling, other than that they're okay.

your servant, Vijaya das

I can't find it, but one of my correspondents cited Michael Denton as a scientific authority for their anti-evolution, special creationist stance. I got Denton's anti-evolution book, "Evolution: A theory in crisis" to read it, so that I can have an informed opinion.

Now I find out that Michael Denton doesn't even stand by the book any more himself (it was written in 1985).

This book review of Denton's follow-up book "Nature's Destiny": From the impossibility of evolution to the inevitability of evolution: Anti-Evolutionist Michael Denton turns into an 'Evolutionist', makes it abundantly clear that Denton now sees evolution as the natural mechanism by which different life forms develop.

I can't remember who quoted Denton to me, but whoever it was: wtf? I go to check out your guy to see what his chops are, and he's not even in to himself any more. Your guy is advocating the same approach that I am!

I think that the two points that I made in the previous post are what changed his mind: understanding that "chance" doesn't intrinsically mean "atheism"; and approaching the evidence with an open mind (always dangerous if you want to remain a fanatic).

ISKCON Mayapur’s small deities of Sri Sri Radha Madhava were taken to the lake in front of the Pushpa Samadhi, a temple in honor of ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada, for their annual Boat Festival this March 9. The deities were carried to the lake at 6pm in a chanting procession, surrounded by enthusiastically dancing devotees. The crowd watched intently as priests placed the deities carefully onto the ornate, altar-like boat, aligned their throne, and decorated them with flowers.

Hare Krsna Prabhus,

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

As I mentioned before the Mayapura festival, the book distribution seminars by Bhrghupati Prabhu and myself would be available for hearing and downloading. They are on www.iskcondesiretree.com Go to the preaching catagory, book distribution, then audio. We hope they inspire you to distribute Srila Prabhupada's books. The recordings are good except for the first few seconds on some of them you'll hear some crackling, other than that they're okay.

your servant, Vijaya das

At the ISKCON center in Mayapur they treat cows kindly. It’s true for most of India, to be sure, but the Krishna Devotees have created an Old Cows Home that really does it right. I took walks there in the mornings while in India for the URI Global Assembly. The story goes like this: in West Bengal, if a cow gets old and stops giving milk, it’s hard on the farmer’s pocketbook to keep feeding her/him/it. But in India people rarely kill cows so what to do?

Recently the principal of ISKCON's Bhaktivedanta College in Radhadesh, Belgium was approved to enter the renounced order of life known as sannyasa in the Vedic tradition. Below is an interview conducted by Dina Dayala Dasa that highlights the reasoning behind his making such a committment.

Devotees from ISKCON’s headquarters in Mayapur, India gathered in the nearby town of Shantipur this March 8 to celebrate the annual festival there. The Shantipur festival is held in the house of fifteenth century saint Advaita Acarya, one of the four primary associates of Shri Chaitanya, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

The annual “Boat Festival” is one of the most unique events at ISKCON’s Krishna Balarama temple in the holy town of Vrindavana, India. Every spring, devotees fill the temple’s courtyard with water to create a pool, decorate its surface with flowers, and take the temple’s presiding deities of Radha-Shyamasundar on a ride in an ornate, flower-bedecked boat. But the event has become almost too popular in recent years, with crowds packing the temple so tightly that many devotees have been unable to attend.

The two ISKCON Mayapur residents who were badly injured in a car crash on March 12 are steadily recovering after devotees around the world feared the worst. Jahnudvipa Dasa from Denmark and his wife Braja Sevaki Dasi from Australia were rushed to the local Apollo hospital when their taxi collided head-on with a truck near Kolkata airport.

ISKCON’s Food For Life program in Portugal is celebrating fourteen years of dedication to helping the needful this March 19. In 2007, the local government awarded the organization a Silver Medal recognizing its service, and today its efforts show no signs of slowing down.

Being vegan is supposed to do lots of lovely spiritual and gastrointestinal things to you. You're supposed to feel lighter and healthier, for one. And your bowels work better (if "better" can be defined as "with alarming frequency"). A less-publicized side effect of veganism, however, is the constant urban foraging.

Tegnap este még felhívott Gaura Sakti prabhu, hogy a Prithvi-pati prabhu lebetegedett. Sajnálatos dolog és ez engem még annyiban érint, hogy rám ruházták az út szervezését, kommunikációt.
2 héttel ezelőtt már próbálták ezt, de akkor sikeresen hárítottam a feladatot, de úgy látszik nem tudom elkerülni a karmám.
Ahogy írtam, szeretnék rendszeresen beszámolni, hogy mik történnek kint.
Egy meglepetéssel is készülök, amit remélem, sikerül megcsinálnom. Ha igen, akkor az oldalon láthatjátok majd… Én most indulok itthonról a templomba, ahonnan együtt indulunk a reptérre.
Szóval, kérlek, imádkozzatok értünk, hogy sikeresen tudjuk a ránk bízott feladatokat végrehajtani és az bombayi tapasztalatokkal gazdagabban tudjuk a szolgálatainkat folytatni.

RIGA, LATVIA - About once a week since I first moved here, I’ve met a lady on or near Barona street asking for money for the Hare Krishna “Dzivibas Ediens” (Food for Life) program, which feeds the homeless and anyone else who lines up in front of the Barona street building.

Last Saturday Lokanath Prabhu arranged a joint harinam between the various yatras here in Johannesburg, South Africa. What really struck me was how much can be achieved by the spirit of togetherness. The harinam was such a complete facility to distribute Lord Caitanya's mercy in different ways the Srila Prabhupada has taught us. There was lots of prasad distributed. Three boxes of books were also distributed and the holy name was of course also given out freely.

Above a child recipient of the mercy relishes every grain of the sumptuous breyani prasad he just received from the devotees.

Those enjoying Krishna Lunch this week may have received something extra with their meal — a flier. On Monday, meal servers began handing out the fliers, detailing the economy’s impact on meal costs.

Hundreds of Hindu worshippers came together at their local Letchmore Heath temple to celebrate the full moon and colours of spring. The Holi and Gaura Purnima festivals at Bhaktivedanta Manor on Sunday included a bonfire, spring welcoming rituals and the throwing of coloured powders on revellers.

Toronto, Ontario

WOMEN WITH KRISHNA

We went for a short afternoon walk with a small traveling party, and passed by Toronto’s famous Casa Loma, possibly the largest castle in Canada. It was built by a man for his wife. Certainly, women have inspired great endeavors throughout the ages.

Nitai Priya, one of our female devotees, was invited to speak at the University of Toronto at on of the student clubs on “The Role of Women in Krishna Consciousness”. It has not been her fist time to present this topic to a group of people. Before going she asked if I had any remarks to make that could possibly add to her presentation. She did say that on former occasions the audience primarily women, would ride on the wave of saying that women are better than men.

So I got started, “First of all, we are not men nor women, but spirits with a body that has a particular type of function that is complementary. And while male bashing has become popular in recent years, do think twice about appreciating both genders. After all the chairs we sit on, the microphone you use, the room and building in which you sit with its heating or air conditioning system have all likely been manufactured, assembled and delivered by men and is repaired by men. Let’s appreciate and develop a balanced view.

In the Bhagavad-Gita Krishna lists good memory, fine speech and intelligence as feminine traits. Naturally there are qualities found on both sides of the gender table that are worth taking note of. In Vedic culture, many goddesses are adored right next to their male counterparts. In the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, women share the same responsibilities in their service to the public. Many women are administrators and many take up priestly duties.

Some members carry views that are discriminatory and have personally formed attitudes, but our guru, Srila Prabhupada, on the whole, demonstrated fairness if ever there was provocation. The point he repeatedly made was – “WE ARE NOT THESE BODIES!”


3km

Suppose today if by biotechnology it were possible to produce a person of the same size and shape of Einstein, will such a person possess the same intelligence and personality of Einstein? The answer is no. Biotechnology cannot copy the spiritual nature of a person. Thus, the idea that life could be mechanistically recreated by incorporating existing DNA into an already existing natural process does not seem to be a correct one and further indicates that life is beyond physical characteristics.

According to USA Today, "When Slumdog Millionaire swept the Oscars on Saturday night, its triumph provided as uplifting a story line as the movie itself. For such an unlikely film to win - independent, low budget, much of it in a foreign language - underscores an American strength that's sometimes forgotten: the ability, as a nation of immigrants, to embrace and assimilate people from different cultures."

In the same section of Srimad Bhagavatam, we find the following verse (11.7.48): "The various phases of one's material life, beginning with birth and culminating in death, are all properties of the body and do not affect the soul, just as the apparent waxing and waning of the moon does not affect the moon itself. Such changes are enforced by the imperceptible movements of time."

This is one of the things we can learn from the moon.

This song was written by George Harrison about Srila Prabhupada after his first meeting with him in 1969. When he recorded the Abbey Road album with the Beatles he changed the wording so that rumors wouldn't be derived from an affectionate song being addressed to a man.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

If the selection above is hosted by YouTube then after the video plays there will be several links presented to other videos. ISKCON News Weekly has no control over the selections presented and is not responsible for their contents.

some personal memories of the great spiritual commader in Prabhupadas army, Tribhuvannath prabhu

Many in Kazakhstan remain wary, certain that officials will try again to impose harsh new restrictions on freedom of religion and belief. "This is not the end of the attempt to adopt such a law," Yevgeny Zhovtis, head of the Almaty-based Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, told Forum 18. "I think they will try again." He believes fresh attempts could come in 2011 or 2012, after Kazakhstan has completed its chairmanship of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). "But I'm not sure that they won't try again in 2009."

Though India is a cecular republic, and though secularism commands separation of state and religion, State governments have taken over all prominent Hindu temples and shrines which is an anti-secular act. The best part is that only Hindu temples have been targeted for government control whereas no Christian church or Muslim mosque has been touched.

The number of new claims of sexual abuse made against US Roman Catholic priests rose by 16% to more than 800 last year, a Church report says. It says the Church paid $436m (£313m) in 2008 for abuse cases. Most of the money was used to compensate victims.

New Delhi (PTI): Two police officers were injured when a group of people, protesting after discovery of a cow carcasses in their village, pelted stones on police personnel in south Delhi on Saturday. Residents of Dera village in Mehrauli informed police around 6.30 AM that their cows were found slaughtered in the nearby jungle and claimed that their remains were thrown in the village.

My first introduction to natural, organic and eco-friendly products stems back to the early '90s, when I stumbled upon Burt’s Bees lip balm at an independently owned health food store in the heart of Westport, Kansas City, Mo. Before the eyesore invasion of ’98, when Starbucks frothed its way into the neighborhood, leading to its ultimate demise, Westport was the kind of 'hood I still yearn for.

This week's Harinam:

Where: Samuel St and Thomas St, Whites Hill, QLD
When: 2.30 pm, Sunday March 22, 2009

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I'm currently reading Michael Denton's book "Evolution: A Theory in Crisis" [wikipedia]. I picked up a copy from the local Theosophical Society Bookstore last night.

It's an old book, written in 1985, but I'm interested to master the arguments that he puts forth in it.

I'm not very far into it, but here are two things that immediately spring out:

1. On the rear cover is an excerpt which I believe lays out one of the underpinnings of his argument, that "(t)he intuitive feeling that pure chance could never have achieved the degree of complexity and ingenuity so ubiquitous in nature has been a continuing source of scepticism ever since the publication of Origin of the Species

I had a discussion with a Gauranga Kishore about "chance" and evolution:

"Chance" is a word.

Everyone knows that there is no such thing as chance. The universe is deterministic and infinite complexity arises from the massive repeated interaction of simple principles. Chaos is just massive complexity. "Chance" is a word used to describe it, but it's just a word.

The question is this: where does the stochastic system [definition] come from?

Is it self-manifested, or does it have a cause? If it is self-manifested then Darwinian evolution has no cause other than material nature, which is the atheist's metaphysical definition of "chance".

Otherwise, Darwinian evolution is indirectly caused by the direct cause of the universe.

According to Vedic metaphysics the Param Brahma is the direct cause of the cosmic manifestation, therefore He is the indirect cause of Darwinian evolution.

Chance is just a layman's word to describe massive complexity. Darwin can describe the massive complexity, but Darwinian evolution can't make authoritative statements about the cause without becoming a metaphysical system - which it's not. It's an empirical system.

2. He begins by pointing out that there are two different philosophical approaches to the debate around evolutionary theory. One is the "conservative" approach - evolutionary theory's overarching narrative is largely correct, and anomalous or omitted evidence represent areas where the theory requires refinement. The other is the "radical" approach which states that the overarching narrative itself is faulty. He chooses the radical approach for his book.

That immediately set me at ease. He's not fanatical. Like Srila Prabhupada in his introduction to Bhagavad-gita he sets the tone as one of open-minded inquiry. Now let me see what he has to say, and judge it on its merits.

I'll be sure to read this critique of the book, and this one as well, when I've finished it.

Addendum: According to wikipedia, Denton's views have changed since 1985 to become something closer to my current thinking:

Denton's views have changed over the years. His second book Nature's Destiny argues for a law-like evolutionary unfolding of life and therefore assumes evolution as a given. He no longer openly associates with Discovery [an Intelligent Design organization], and the Institute no longer lists him as a fellow.

I remember hearing a class by Swami B.V. Tripurari where he recounted a talk he gave somewhere in the US. Afterwards a man began to challenge him point-by-point. Swami said to him: "Look, these guys, Jiva Goswami and others, took the time to write down what they were all about. Why don't you do the same thing. Go away and write down what you are all about, and then get back to me."

So it is with a lot of anti-evolutionaries. They attack the overarching evolutionary theory piecemeal, without presenting their own overarching narrative as an alternative.

One staunch anti-evolutionary who is taking the time to write down what he's all about is Turkey's Islamic Creationist Adnan Oktar. He is currently five volumes in to his 14-volume piece de resistance - the "Atlas of Creation".

His works are being translated into 57 languages by his publisher. It's apparently not the most sound scientific work:

One of the pictures in the first volume of Mr. Oktar's work features what is labeled as a caddis fly. It is in fact a man-made fishing fly with a metal hook clearly visible.

...but at least he's making the effort. He's obviously a man with strong "convictions":

Mr. Oktar says this is a "little detail" and believes that "just 10 pages of my book can defeat Dawkins."

He's offered a reward of 10 million Turkish lira (around $6 million) to anyone who can produce a fossil that proves evolution. He has also invited his Oxford foe to a debate.

Prof. Dawkins says he has no intention of accepting, as that would only "give legitimacy" to "this weird phenomenon." Mr. Oktar, he says, "doesn't know anything about zoology, doesn't know anything about biology. He knows nothing about what he is attempting to refute."

More details in the Wall Street Journal article An Islamic Creationist Stirs a New Kind of Darwinian Struggle.

All I can say is: at least he's taken the time to write down what he's all about, which most creationists/anti-evolutionaries do not.

A friend wrote to me:

I was talking with a devotee mentor of mine who has done a few lecture on refuting Darwin's theory and he made an interesting point and i was wondering what you thought of it.

He was saying that there is a great deal of fossil evidence that is missing. For instance, the evolution from a cow (mammal) to a whale (also a mammal), which had to have taken millions of years, there is not transitional species found. For such a drastic evolution to happen there has to have been hundreds of transitional species. Things such as beaks becoming longer or horses getting bigger are understandable, but evolution of land to water or water to land mammals have no evidence. So the conclusion is such evolution is not possible.

Here's my reply:

Four points:

1. The conclusion does not follow from the premises:

• Evolutionary theory requires transitional forms.
• Transitional forms have not been discovered.
• Therefore evolution is not possible.

This argument is not correct. It may be that transitional forms have not *yet* been found. Absence of proof is not conclusive evidence of non-existence.

It may also be debatable whether transitional forms have or have not been found. See the following in reference to this point.

2. Known Intermediate Forms

Tiktaalik [wikipedia], whose discovery was published in 2006 [2006 NY Times article], is the current poster child for intermediate evolutionary forms. It's an intermediate from water to land. Archaeopteryx [wikipedia] (discovered in the 1800s) is one that was known about when I was a kid that is an intermediate between dinosaurs and birds. The Earth is large and we are still discovering living species, what to speak of extinct ones. A lack of huge amounts of fossilized intermediate forms is not a show stopper.

Tiktaalik, a "fishapod" - an intermediate form between fish and terapods, discovered in Canada in 2006

3. Lack of alternative narrative.

For this to really be an effective rebuttal of evolution it needs to be linked to alternative theory that explains the observed phenomena and makes testable predictions, and posits and relies on an absence of transitional forms. Such a theory gains strength as a hypothesis as time goes on and no transitional forms are discovered. On the other hand, if transitional forms are found (and if Tiktaalik [2008 New Scientist article] and Archaeopteryx don't already represent at least one, then that theory will be falsified. That's scientific, and a valid scientific alternative.

4. Belief with scanty evidence

The implicit argument here is: "You are believing in something that isn't supported by the evidence". However, coming from a Hare Krishna, who advocates flying mountains and oceans of milk, it's kind of ironic. Calling people out for "believing" something with no evidence is kinda rich... sort of like sawing off the branch you are sitting on. There is more scientific evidence for evolution than for oceans of milk, and at the same time the stories of the Vedas do not account empirically for the fossils that we are finding, with the flow-on implications for orders of life and different epochs.

Conclusion

Personally I think this line of argument, without it being part of advancing an alternative theory (a coherent, systematic, and comprehensive narrative), is only really for the already convinced. To call it conclusive evidence is to overstate the case. It's more about shoring up people's faith. It might lend circumstantial evidence to an alternative hypothesis, but there isn't one here. It falls into a category of "arguments we would make against evolution, but would never apply to our own narrative, which we keep hidden in the background while we try to bring evolution down".

To be scientific anti-evolutionists need their own theory. Otherwise, evolution still wins as the current best-fit model. That doesn't mean that its perfect, completely right, or even right at all - it just means it's the best fit in terms of explaining what we see, and making useful and testable predictions.

Addendum: For current thought on the evolution of whales, see this New Scientist article

Sastra Dana newspaper, 16 Rounds To Samadhi, has found it’s home in a smoke shop Smoke This. The shop is located in Pacific Beach, San Diego. We  wrote the paper specifically with the modern youth in mind so we find it encouraging the way our paper has been received at this shop.

From the Vedic scriptures we can understand there are two types of mentalities that one can posess; the fly (who seeks the drop of poision in the ocean of nectar) or the honey bee (who seeks the drop of nectar in the ocean of poison). We have the choice which mentality we wish to adopt. Free choice [...]

Last year Scott Jarvie took the photos which have memorialized Holi for anyone who has not yet been. It would be well worth while to peruse his blog, as he is a re-enlisted "combat" veteran.

As many devotees within Toronto's growing Hare Krishna community may know, the temple has regularly facilitated classes, seminars and workshops over the last several years based on books like Bhagavad-Gita, Isopanisad, Nectar of Instruction and topics like Vaisnava Etiquette and the Yoga Ladder.

1966 March 20:
"Chaturdashi & Amabasyha. Some four gentlemen and ladies came to see me. We talked for some time. They have given their addresses. No income and no expenditure."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 20: "It is not the doctor, or the medicine, or the place, but it is ultimately Krishna Who is the Master to do every thing. With this viewpoint we shall go forward."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 20: "Our foremost concern is Krishna. If Krishna's service is well done, then we should forget our personal inconveniences. That will make you victorious in achieving Krishna's blessings."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 20: "Regarding the statement that the printing would take eight months, so we cannot wait for eight months. Therefore do not accept a new schedule."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 March 20: "Our first business is this preaching work so. If you think studying 2 1/2 years more can be better used immediately to push our Krishna Consciousness movement, then that will be very nice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 March 20: "Yes, the big Deities are already shipped. We must have immediately the installation of these big Deities. As soon as I arrive, I shall install Them."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1974 March 20: "On your word I am accepting the following devotees for second initiation. This initiation should be taken very seriously, and those who accept it have to prove exemplary or it will become a farce."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

You will never never never know me. 

Achieve your Goals and Satisfy your Heart! Unlocking the secrets of Bhakti Yoga.

Wednesday, March 25th, 2009

Please join us in this enlightening discussion lead by world reknown monk, and entertaining speaker, Devamrita Swami. He’s back in town this week!

An enlivening evening not to be missed!

$8 includes Vegan Feast!

Starts at 6pm sharp

103 Beach Rd, 1st Floor, AKLD, NZ

1966 March 20:
"Chaturdashi & Amabasyha. Some four gentlemen and ladies came to see me. We talked for some time. They have given their addresses. No income and no expenditure."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 20: "It is not the doctor, or the medicine, or the place, but it is ultimately Krishna Who is the Master to do every thing. With this viewpoint we shall go forward."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 20: "Our foremost concern is Krishna. If Krishna's service is well done, then we should forget our personal inconveniences. That will make you victorious in achieving Krishna's blessings."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.12-13 - Amidst so many material difficulties we should try to see Krsna's direction behind it all.

1970 March 20: "Regarding the statement that the printing would take eight months, so we cannot wait for eight months. Therefore do not accept a new schedule."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

The Lib Dems have voted in favour of allowing state-funded faith schools to continue selecting pupils by faith. The party has also rejected calls to ban the setting up of new state-funded faith schools in a vote at its spring conference in Harrogate.

1970 March 20: "Our first business is this preaching work so. If you think studying 2 1/2 years more can be better used immediately to push our Krishna Consciousness movement, then that will be very nice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 March 20: "Yes, the big Deities are already shipped. We must have immediately the installation of these big Deities. As soon as I arrive, I shall install Them."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1974 March 20: "On your word I am accepting the following devotees for second initiation. This initiation should be taken very seriously, and those who accept it have to prove exemplary or it will become a farce."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

March 20, 3:15 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

My evening was peaceful. I don’t remember my dreams nowadays. They don’t seem to be an important part of my life, so bizarre and quick-fading. I don’t attempt to capture them by writing them down or tape recording them. I’m serious about my spiritual life, and they don’t seem to be much connected to it. I prefer a dreamless, restful sleep.

Today I got up at 3:15. My head was clear. I like the idea of being vigilant to catch myself so I don’t wake depressed or thinking that my life isn’t going in the right direction. I hold a kind of “energy shield” at a distance from my body to keep the bad thoughts from coming in. Keep steady and assure yourself you’re doing all right. In the shower, I was a little distressed that I was up late and wasn’t going to start my rounds early. The part of the Bhagavad-gita recitation that caught my attention was the statement that the transcendentalist lives within and is peaceful within himself. He doesn’t have to go out and have contact with the senses for pleasure because he’s happy within. Prabhupada also wrote that Krishna consciousness is the greatest welfare for humanity, because everyone is suffering from loss of remembrance of Krishna as the best friend, the greatest protector and the object of all sacrifice. My response to both of those statements was that they should apply to me. I should live within, but I should also help in the preaching mission.

I began chanting at 4:00 A.M. I chanted at a low whisper, wide awake. I finished eight rounds by 5:05 A.M.

Monk’s Temptation

Moving quickly a jazz band

emulates the circus clown

trombone, but the others

are busy with their

varied work.

The trombone is a hard bone,

a ripping tone with blasts

of air out the horn he

keeps his time with melody too,

a clown nevertheless.

Their head is a jump tuner.

Ernest Dawkins squawks on

alto sax reminiscent of Ornette

Coleman, zig-zag his fingers

work up and down the keys.

He cries like a seagull. He

chops short lines and moves

jerkily, you like it

very comfortable jivey stuff.

He blows his head off,

goes up high and goes

back and forth. Meanwhile

his drummer is kicking him on.

Yes, that’s Ernest Dawkins

with his men in their music theme.

We’ve got a smooth guitar, pressing

the notes electric, he wears a

“Charlie Parker” T-shirt, a young kid

who really knows his way through the

frets, picking then grabbing a handful

of chords and dragging them down the

neck of the electric guitar.

The head again, joshing...

this trumpeter is really a joker

out for amusement, whip-whip

he neighs like a horse, talks like a

man, trebles-shouts and growls.

Finish with the head smoothly

as a group, you’ve been taken

on a ride.

We Could Make Beautiful Music Together

Romance tenor and alto

two veterans of jazz

Griffin and Woods

mixing together in

somnolent bond.

Two people say they could

make love together, take it as

music. Johnny Griffin is

gentle macho, slower than

Woods, gruff, kind man.

Woods more excitable climbing

up the range.

Griffin is bear hugs and a

piano bridges the tune with

polite melodies held up by

a rhythm section of bass and drums.

The bassist takes a solo and keeps rhythmic

but with a tune from

his own strong fingers.

Then they trade fours with the drummer.

a little Woods, and then the drummer,

a little Griffin, and then the drummer.

This is the neatest stuff

a kind of loving contest

between the horns.

The main tune closes out

with more heady romance

how we two could make

beautiful music together

which they just did.

8:43 A.M.

The poems need no defense; at least I’m not going to defend them. We’d just as soon need to defend the seagulls, the beach and the ocean. Say they’re not Krishna consciousness.

I don’t need to defend my aloneness. Bhagavad-gita recommends it, and so does the Tao. I’m preaching through the journal. A flurry of guests is coming to see me at the house.

I can’t defend my headaches. They come of their own accord and seem like they’re here to stay. But I don’t complain.

You can’t defend the failures of ISKCON, its breaking into schisms. Prabhupada told me, “There are no schisms. Just insincerity.”

I don’t defend my artwork. I put it forward as childish simplicity.

I don’t defend my lack of travel. I claim I can get as much done staying in one place.

I don’t defend my writing. This is how I do it, and you can take it or leave it.

I can’t defend against death; I pray to accept it.

I can’t defend an ISKCON temple by staying there and living in the asrama because I need a bhajana kutir.

I can defend against depression and constant uncertainty. Take your stand and live for it.

10:19 A.M.

Free writing is putting down whatever comes without thinking about it. I went downstairs to get Baladeva and ask him to take me shopping. But he was lying on his back under his cover, fast asleep. I stayed and watched him for five minutes, thinking he might wake up. He twitched his arms, straightened his legs, but did not wake. So I left him alone. I wanted to write something. I drew a picture of a man and a cow. I began this free write. You can make it religious by quoting from the scriptures. There is the song chanted by Lord Siva to the Pracetas. I read it months ago but don’t remember any of it now. We’re reading in Bhajana-rahasya about Radha dasya. I will start reading from another section in Prabhupada’s books, maybe continue The Nectar of Devotion. It is good to regularly be reading something from Prabhupada’s books. The Major League baseball season starts in a few weeks, but I probably won’t be watching much of it because I go to bed at 8:00 P.M. now. Chanting from 5:00 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. is important, but I’ve fallen off from doing it fulltime since we’ve started the relaxation meditation. I’ll have to adjust that schedule. Fill your day with as much Krishna consciousness as you can.

11:45 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I am writing to You in the late morning. You are locked up in all the scriptures. Devotees who know the sastras have unlocked the books. They are familiar with Your pastimes and teachings. They can see You in their mind’s eye and they relish hearing about you anew. I like the examples given in The Nectar of Devotion. An example of ecstasy by perspiration was present when Garuda, situated above the clouds, saw Indra throwing torrential rains upon the residents of Vrndavana. Garuda became so angry that he began to perspire. A gopi addressed Radharani thus: “My dear Radharani, You are rebuking the sunshine unnecessarily, but I can understand that You are perspiring only because of Your becoming too lusty at seeing Krishna” (NOD, p. 225). That is an example of perspiration caused by jubilation. The Nectar of Devotion is chockful of such nectarean examples.

My Lord, You perform so many pastimes that Ananta Sesa could not recite them with His thousands of hoods if He tried for millions of years. I want to hear those pastimes and one day live in them. Is it possible? I would have to show such greed that You would allow me. I would have to qualify by showing compassion for other living beings and try to bring them to You. Thus I have to partake in the sankirtana mission.

You want me to preach on Your behalf. Helping fellow souls by reviving their Krishna consciousness is the most potent welfare activity that a person can do in this universe. It pleases You to see devotees attempt it, and You bring them to You. Let me not cast my eyes down in shame before You but look in Your eyes and cry that I have tried to bring people to Krishna consciousness.

I ask You to take up this work again. Let me be part of the ongoing devotional service movement that will never stop. I cannot act in a helpful spirit unless You give me the power to do it. I can ask for Your mercy, but I must really be sincere. I must not ask for it and yet never act, claiming, “I guess I wasn’t a devotee.” We must work for it together. As the commercial for Home Depot says, “You can do it. We can help.” You can help if I come forward.

Please give me daring, please give me faith. Make me Your bhakta. I don’t want to fail. See some good in me and push me to the sticking point. These words are strong, and my will is not really up to it. But I must speak boldly, despite my timid nature. It is not hypocritical. It is begging. Even a beggar can be rewarded and become something he is not. Do I dare to speak the words I long for? “Please make this Satsvarupa dasa a strong devotee.”

read more sdgonline.org: the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #16 →

Srila Bhaktisvarupa Damodara Swami Sripad Maharaj's Ranganiketan Manipuri Cultural Arts Troupe www.ranganiketan.com will be making a tour of Europe from 5th - 25th July this year Devotees who are interested in utilizing the artiste's preaching potential by organizing programs should contact me (ajit das) to discuss the possibilities as soon as possible.

This year, as always, we request you to submit your homages to Srila Prabhupada for his Vyasa Puja book by April 15. The standards for submitting an offering are as follows: ------------ Absolutely no offerings will be accepted after April 15, 2009. Offerings must be in English. Please restrict the length to a maximum of 3,000 words or 15k of ASCII text.

We will be very pleased to have your holy presence and your participation in this auspicious occasion. For the devotees who like to join and participate in these programs, can enter Bali with on arrival visa for 7 days with a charge of $ 10 USD and those who wish to stay longer up to 30 days with a charge of $ 25 USD to the Bali immigration officer at the Airport.

Last year’s Japa Retreat in Radhadesh was wonderfully inspiring. The devotees felt such enthusiasm about their breakthrough experiences that we immediately decided to have Japa Retreat Level 2 in 2009. Japa retreats are now being conducted in all parts of the world and are becoming more and more sought after by devotees and friends of Lord Krishna.

For the past 35 years I’ve been cooking prasadam in ISKCON kitchens, including the well-known Kalachandji’s Restaurant in Dallas, Texas started in 1982, and now in Gainesville, Florida, home of the huge daily Krishna Lunch program at the University of Florida serving 5,000 plates a week. After seeing prasadam touch so many lives, I have resolved to compile a book entitled The Glories of Krishna Prasadam to disseminate such prasadam pastimes along with other important related topics.

Srila Prabhupada said: If someone doesn't come to Krsna consciousness, it is very unfortunate. If someone does come to Krsna consciousness, then he is fortunate. But if someone comes to Krsna consciousness and then leaves before he is mature, then that is the most unfortunate.

(From "Life with the Perfect Master" by SDG)

The organizers are looking for serious presenters to participate in the event. We want and welcome diversity to compliment the many areas of Krishna Consciousness that are available these days. If you are personally interested or can point the way to someone that might be, please contact Malati devi: servingkrishna@aol.com 304-845-95918

Gopi Gita dasi singing the bhajan Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu on Lord Nityananda's appearance day.

Dallas, TX
2009-02-07

Download: 2009-02-07 - 4 - Nityananda App Day - Sri Krishna Chaitanya Prabhu - Gopi Gita dasi.mp3

This is my dear friend Shanti Parayana, who was my 'main man' in the kitchen last week when we prepared our special feast for 800 at the North Sydney Here Krishna Temple.

Shanti came to one of my very first cookery classes in Melbourne in 1980, became a regular devotee and has spent many a long day helping me in the kitchen since then.

Shanti divides his time between the holy city of Sridham Mayapur (West Bengal), and Eastern Europe.

Here's Shanti and myself in our (bright orange) tent kitchen at the conclusion of my 17 classes on the Festival of India Tour 3 years ago in Mrzezyno, Poland. From left to right: Next to Shanti is Mirek from Czech Republic, Magda my translator from Poland, and Ganga from Siberia.

Not to be missed!!!!

A 4 part Nectar of Instruction seminar presented by her grace Urmila devi dasi.

This is a very in depth and inspiring course which includes a professionally bound handout for all attending.

New Varshan Temple, Auckland , NZ.
Every Sunday, 7.30am starting 22nd March thru to 12 April.

Helpful Hint: Please read thru the verses before class if possible.

By Romapada Swami

I'd like to personally invite you to attend an important conference called "Building Bridges" This conference focuses on the question: How can we best share the timeless wisdom of Krishna consciousness with increasingly diverse audiences?

Prananatha Prabhu from New Zealand has produced a wonderful video-presentation of Pancha-tattva maha-abhishek. He wishes to distribute this video and requesting everyone:

Please consider making a generous donation (minimum $1.00 US) to Sri Pancha Tattva at PayPal account: paul@videoguys.co.nz

Here we post this video:



Prananatha Prabhu made a new version of this video now that includes kirtan, we will post that as soon as it become available in web-format.

By Mayapur.tv

The live coverage of the Mayapur Festival has now gone wide-screen and the video quality has also been improved. Don't miss to watch two new high resolution videos of the Maha-abhiseka that have been just added!

Egy 15 fős magyar delegáció utazik ki holnap Bombayba. A látogatás célja, hogy megismerjük az ottani, nagyon sikeres központ működését. Ennek a központnak két nagyon fontos elemét fogjuk megismerni: a bhaktákról való gondoskodás, illetve a gondoskodást képviselő tanácsadói rendszert. A projektet Srila Radhanatha Maharaja vezeti.
Most épp egy országos, felkészítő gyűlésen ülök, ahol a már kint járt bhakták tartanak néhány ráhangoló előadást.
Megkaptam a programot és mit ne mondjak, elég zsúfolt lesz. Szinte reggeltől estig lesz elfoglaltságunk.
Az időjárás elég komoly változás lesz a budapestihez képest, hiszen ott 35-40 fok körül van most és este talán 25-28 fok körül van. Ezt talán nehezen fogom viselni, de is része a lelki fejlődésemnek. :S
2-án jövünk haza. Remélem, tudok majd kintről is írni.

By Madri dasi

This year HG Brhat-mrdanga Prabhu has been approved for sannyasa initiation. Brhat-mrdanga Prabhu joined Iskcon in Durban, South Africa in around 1980's. He was previously a school teacher and also has a Masters degree.

There is a desperate need for spiritual leadership. There is desperate need for the leaders of our world to know how to care for their constituents, to know how to inspire others to serve and sacrifice for the greater good, and to bring people back to their awareness of the Supreme, the Divine, to Krsna.

In this mood, I am hoping someone will sponsor a copy of the timeless tome from HH Bhakti-Tirtha Swami, Leadership For An Age of Higher Consciousness, so that we can send it to the White House in the hopes it will reach the hands of President Obama, and enhance his already sincere style of leadership, and take it and us to a higher level.

This is real "shoot the rhino" strategy, in the mood of Prabhupada, who would always try to contact big world leaders like Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, the Pope, and even Richard Nixon.

If you would like to help, either leave a comment with contact info, or write us at nvclub108@gmail.com.

In Srimad Bhagavatam we find this verse (11.7.41). "Although a self-realized soul may live in various material bodies while in this world, experiencing their various qualities and functions, he is never entangled, just as the wind which carries various aromas does not actually mix with them." The avadhuta brahmana also related this truth to the inquiring Maharaja Yadu.

Tribungananda Prabhu leads…

Sometimes people criticize us for telling them to “chant Hare Krishna and Be Happy.” They say, “It’s not so simple as that. There are so many difficulties within the mind, within society, within ISKCON, etc. I’m not on the atma-rama (self-satisfied) platform. How is it I can simply chant Hare Krishna and be happy?” The basis [...]

Dates would be Friday May 8th & Saturday, May 9th.

They would accompany Titiksita Karunika from the West Coast with his Mantra Rock style R & R.

Contact Malati 304-845-9591 malatidevi@aol.com

Dave Stringer, Param Satya, Sitapati, Patrick Richey - photo by Prahlad

Dave Stringer's Brisbane concert was awesome. Everyone in the band agreed that it was the best one of the four date Australian tour. I played bass guitar and really locked into Patrick Richey's groove on the cajón. Local keyboard virtuoso Rob Stevenson, who plays for Deva Premal when she's in town, smoked it up on the ivories. Edo Kahn played guitar and his fiancée Jo played flute and sang backing vocals. Prem Yogi laid down double-time cartals and chimpta. We had a great mix by Dominic, who is the sound man for Le Carnaval Espirituel for their Australian and Polish tours.

The Yoga Den was buzzing with 70 people who enthusiastically responded to the chanting. People walking by came off the street after hearing the chanting.

We got home after midnight and sat around eating samosas and salad. By the time we finished the dishes and hit the hay it was 2 am.

The next day, Thursday, Edo and Jo headed back down to Byron to do a kirtan that night.

Dave and Patrick rolled out to do their laundry at the local laundromat. In the evening I taught our Thursday night yoga class while Param cooked.

After dinner we did some kirtan with the yoga guests. After they left Dave belted out an "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" - the mantra we chant in the yoga class. Man - usually I am the one singing too high for everyone else, but Dave left me in the dust. I got a sense of what's possible, singing with him, and I'm inspired to practice more.

Then we sat around and talked about gnostic gospels before Dave hit the dishes like they were going out of fashion, then disappeared into his room to do an interview over Skype.

This morning I grabbed a copy of Patrick's latest album with his Moroccan band, Aza, where he plays a frame drum and tabla. Dave gave me a pre-release copy of his upcoming album "Leela".

Dave and Patrick just left to catch their flight to Bali.

What an ecstatic week!

March 19, 3:15 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

My evening was peaceful. The yellow submarine is a wonderful place to get a night’s rest. The room is all dark. The bed is comfortable but not too soft. The house and outside is generally free of noises. I take night medication to help me sleep. Still, I often wake up at different times in the night but then get back to sleep quickly. Then I wake around 1:00 A.M. I deliberately turn over and go back to sleep. I have a digital clock with big letters that I can see in the dark without my glasses. Letting myself go, I finally awake about 3:00 A.M. and become alarmed—it’s late! I get up at once, even though I may feel sleepy. Today I got up at 3:15. My head was clear. My mental state was steady, guarding myself against depression, hoping I’m living the right kind of life. The part of the Bhagavad-gita recitation that caught my attention was Yamunacarya’s prayer. He says that now that he has become absorbed in self-realization, the thought of sex life revolts him, makes him turn his face and spit. The Krishna conscious person is absorbed in trance within and has no attraction at all for matter. He knows the material senses are temporary, and he he has no attraction for them because he is situated in his eternal constitutional nature. read more #15 →

1966 March 19:
"Trayodashi. Today I was to go to Ashram but Yolanda did not go. So I also could not go. I prepared one tape recording of Chintamani. Income -- $1.00. No expenditure."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 19: "If we speak the naked truth they may get angry. Unpalatable truth is not tolerated. If we call a black man black, he will be angry. So we have to present our case very carefully."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 19: "If the MacMillan Company have not replied, then forget. We shall publish our own books. We should not count on them--let us try for our own publications."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 19: "Just one good soul fully developed and firmly convinced can reclaim so many fallen souls. And the best way to prepare such Krishna Conscious souls is to train them to up from birth."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1975 March 19: "Krishna Consciousness is the only truth that exists. Without it everything is illusion. You must not waste this life away thinking that everything belongs to you. Everything belongs to Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 March 19: "Anyone who tries to understand these books will become a great realized devotee of Lord Krishna gradually. The original potency of the sastra remains in these books because I have not added or opinionated anything of my own."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1970 March 19: "To keep your spiritual strength, always observe the regulative principles strictly and chant at least sixteen rounds without fail. And we should always avoid mental speculations."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.7.11 - Attraction for Krsna comes when we conscientiously perform sadhana-bhakti.

We are confident that if the transcendental message of Srimad-Bhagavatam is received only by the leading men of the world, certainly there will be a change of heart, and naturally the people in general will follow them. The mass of people in general are tools in the hands of the modern politicians and leaders of the people. If there is a change of heart of the leaders only, certainly there will be a radical change in the atmosphere of the world.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.5.11

1966 March 19:
"Trayodashi. Today I was to go to Ashram but Yolanda did not go. So I also could not go. I prepared one tape recording of Chintamani. Income -- $1.00. No expenditure."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 March 19: "If we speak the naked truth they may get angry. Unpalatable truth is not tolerated. If we call a black man black, he will be angry. So we have to present our case very carefully."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 March 19: "If the MacMillan Company have not replied, then forget. We shall publish our own books. We should not count on them--let us try for our own publications."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 March 19: "Just one good soul fully developed and firmly convinced can reclaim so many fallen souls. And the best way to prepare such Krishna Conscious souls is to train them to up from birth."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 March 19: "To keep your spiritual strength, always observe the regulative principles strictly and chant at least sixteen rounds without fail. And we should always avoid mental speculations."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1975 March 19: "Anyone who tries to understand these books will become a great realized devotee of Lord Krishna gradually. The original potency of the sastra remains in these books because I have not added or opinionated anything of my own."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975