Bhaja-Just this one word sums up everything. The starting word of my favorite song, 'Bhaja Hu Re Mana." Bhaja means “Be engaged in devotional service’’ says Srila Prabhupada. Why then is it so difficult for me to take up this process sincerely. Why do I seek adoration and appreciation when I should just be concerned about performing my service. The past few weeks have been weeks of intense soul

Jayananda Prabhu wrote some notes in the front Jacket of his Krsna book and these very clearly show the benefits of taking to Krsna consciousness:

- As you begin to apply the book's clearly described principles to your life, you'll quickly experience a new realm of mental poise and experience an inner happiness even in the midst of the most trying circumstances.

- You'll worry less and enjoy more.

- Your power of concentration, memory, understanding and creativity will increase.

- You'll work more energetically, more confidently and efficiently, as well as relate better to people.

- And you'll succeed more easily at whatever you try doing.

- At night you'll fall asleep immediately, and in the morning you'll awaken thoroughly refreshed with even less hours' sleep than you normally need.

- Consequently you'll understand the real purpose of your life and your unique role in creation.

1966 March 23 :
"One letter to Mayor's office. Informed that I shall wait to see Mr. Lindsay till he is free to talk with me. In Dr. Mishra's apartment there were ten to eleven members and I cooked for them all. Today's meeting only two gentlemen attended therefore I did not record the speeches."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1968 March 23: "I want to see that you make BTG a successful magazine like Life Magazine or Illustrated Weekly of India. I am very much ambitious of the progress of the paper, and you can use your discretion how to do it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 March 23: "My standing request is this: amongst yourselves there should not be any disagreement. Whatever you do, you do it by joint consultation. That is my desire."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 March 23: "Go on with work undaunted. That should be followed. Haridas Thakur was harassed even by corporal punishment. Jesus Christ was killed. Nityananda Prabhu was injured by Jagai and Madai. But still preaching never stopped."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 March 23 : "Today we have laid down the cornerstone for our Bombay Center in Juhu. The program now in India is immense task. I am very much encouraged that you feel yourself enthusiastic to help."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 March 23 : "We are trying to make Brahmanas from anywhere in the world. We offer the intelligent person the opportunity to be trained up in the highest spiritual knowledge. So recruit some solid devotees for pushing on this movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 March 23: "I want that those who come to Vrindavan, whether grhasthas or sannyasis, behave on the level of real Goswamis - controlling the senses and always glorifying Krsna by varieties of engagement in devotional service 24 hours a day."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 March 23: "Your political sankirtana Godbrothers are here, but I have informed them their real work is in the USA. You are in the nation's capital - if you can get support there it will be grand preaching for our movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1966 March 22 :
"Dwitiya. Two letters received. One from the Mayor's office, New York City. One from the United States Navigation regarding Jaladuta. In the evening two gentlemen and lady came. Discussed for some time. No income and no expenditure."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1968 March 22 : "I am so much pleased to hear the wonderful news of your Sankirtana meetings. This sort of enterprise is the most valuable spiritual attempt. And I thank you from the core of my heart for doing such a nice thing."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1968 March 22 : "The authorities there are simply like wooden dolls in the hands of the Dance Master. Fear personified cannot remain in the prescence of Krishna so there is nothing to fear, simply it is botheration."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 March 22 : "Regarding Syama's kirtana; it is also nice. But it does not behoove that I shall sing with her. Let us see how much she is advanced in Krishna Consciousness. And then we shall think of full cooperation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1972 March 22 : "Simply stick very closely to the regulative principles and always keep yourself 24 hours engaged in devotional service, so much so, that you will be too much busy serving Krishna to think about other things."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 March 22 : "Our business is to engage many men in the devotional service of Krsna, and if we give the job for distributing all our books to others, then where is the opportunity to give our students good training how to preach?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 March 22 : "I wish to speak at least once a week on television on the great philosophy of Bhagavata Dharma. If we are successful then my dreamt mission to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world will be fulfilled."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 March 22: "He constitutes a menace; he should be punished and a court case should be taken. We are always protected by Krsna but this crazy threat should not go unchecked. Therefore go to Scotland Yard and present the letter."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

House Bill 875 (HR 875), the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009, purports to

To establish the Food Safety Administration within the Department of Health and Human Services to protect the public health by preventing food-borne illness, ensuring the safety of food, improving research on contaminants leading to food-borne illness, and improving security of food from intentional contamination, and for other purposes.

Sounds okay, right. But there is an ominous undertone that could threaten the open and unfettered practice of true organic farming, as described in this article and this article, and this short video clip here.

You can read the bill here, and its Senate counterpart here

Mind you, these bills have lobbying links to Monsanto, the great scourge of genetically-modified agricultural and food science, whose policies and practices are currently leaking and insinuating their way into our bodies.

Here's what I find ominous in the House bill:

(1) LIST OF CONTAMINANTS- Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall publish in the Federal Register a list of the contaminants in foods that have the greatest adverse impact on public health in terms of the number and severity of illnesses and number of deaths associated with foods regulated under this Act. Where appropriate, the Administrator shall indicate whether the risk posed by a contaminant is generalized or specific to particular foods or ingredients.
See this article we posted recently

(c) Regulations- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and representatives of State departments of agriculture, shall promulgate regulations to establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production of food by food production facilities. Such regulations shall--

(3) include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, and storage operations, minimum standards related to fertilizer use, nutrients, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water;
This could mean that natural, organic methods of fertilizer use and other time-tested implements could be deemed "hazardous" under these regulations.

This article also spells out some more specific red flags from the bill, such as...

Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with?

Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more.

Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment.

To express your concern, you can sign this petition here

And call your government reps via the U.S Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121. Express your concerns that local and organic farms and farmers may be unduly affected by the provisions of the bill, ask them to also make sure they read the bill, and express your concern that the bill be altered to protect organic farming from such regulations, and if the bill can't be altered thusly, strongly request them to vote against the bill.

You can also track your reps response to this bill and the bill's progress itself by quickly and freely registering here at the website govtrack.us

Daily Red Meat Raises Chances Of Dying Early

By Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer. Tuesday, March 24, 2009

"Eating red meat increases the chances of dying prematurely, according to the first large study to examine whether regularly eating beef or pork increases mortality.

The study of more than 500,000 middle-aged and elderly Americans found that those who consumed about four ounces of red meat a day (the equivalent of about a small hamburger) were more than 30 percent more likely to die during the 10 years they were followed, mostly from heart disease and cancer. Sausage, cold cuts and other processed meats also increased the risk." More...

Ahogy ígértem itt a meglepetés.

Elkészült egy rövid kis videó a bombayi utunkról. Remélem, örömötöket szolgálja

Szeretnék rendszeresen felrakni hasonlókat, de nem egyszerű a videók feltöltése. Remélem, sikerül.

Date: March 11th, 2009

Topic: Pastimes of Nimai

Speaker: HH Bhaktisiddhanta Swami

---

You have been hearing very nicely about the three reasons why Lord Krishna came in the form of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The external reason represents the sankirtan movement and His internal reason is to actually taste the mood and the devotion of His most intimate associates. So in the Adi Lila it is very

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Ortrun Gates: Hare Krishna! With the planting season and spring upon us, the need for a small pick-up truck at Gita Nagari, Port Royal, PA has grown immensely.

It is interesting to note the words 'humility' and 'humiliate' start with the same five letters. One of the dictionary definitions of "humiliate" is "to cause a painful loss of pride, self-respect, or dignity." The attainment of humility involves just this, a loss of pride.

Srila Prabhupada once spoke of a successful Indian businessman in Calcutta who, in his old age, renounced the world and had taken to begging alms from his enemies (financial competitors).

The Holy name is...

... my shelter, because His name gives me a God that I can turn to

... my training coach - He keeps pushing me and pushing me, even when I don't want to go any more

... an enigma

... my circadian clock, keeping me on my toes with how I'm spending my time so that ultimately, I can spend time with Him

... my diva. He's not cheap; He wants the real thing - my sincerity - not a parrot or a computer

... a rainbow - He moves away from me when I get closer, and there's no way to reach out and touch Him. But oh, is He glorious

... my mother - tolerating my rebelliousness, and loves me more than I could ever know

... my child - I need to sacrifice so much in my life to make time for Him

... my most crucial, mystical challenge in life

The latest look of ISKCON Mayapur grounds (as of Jan-Feb 2009), some construction, some destruction… pardon the background song - a small weakness of self-expression (V.Tsoy reflects how I felt a…

March 23, 2:45 A.M.

I felt a dull headache during the night, but endured it. I slept through until 2:45 A.M. then got up, but my head was still achey. At least I was up a little early. I started thinking about the Festival of Inspiration and whether I can go. I saw the temperature was forty-two degrees outside and decided to wear long underwear. I figured I would be taking a medication pretty soon. I began japa at 3:16.

Early-morning japa log

4:21 A.M.

What I seek and feel is lacking is bhakti. I don’t want to chant mechanically. I want to feel the meaning of the Hare Krishna mantras as I repeat them. Please engage me in Your service. Please reveal the essence of nama to me. This seeking and crying has to be there, beyond the accumulation of numbers of rounds. I chanted as quickly as I could while still uttering the syllables distinctly. I began averaging about seven minutes per round and kept that up for the eight rounds. I whispered audibly. My mind did not wander much to thoughts other than simply hearing. The room’s quietness and the quietness of the house was condusive to good chanting. I did not think of much japa thoughts, or thoughts harmonious or advantageous to japa but just stayed on the recitation of the names themselves. The best thing about the session was that I kept up a speedy average and was not much distracted. The weakest thing was the lack of deeper devotion and exploring the meaning of the names.

Ode to Charlie Parker

A soft ballad blowing on

Eric Dolphy’s flute, they’re

respectful in an ode

to a man who’s usually

lightning fast.

Trilling the flute, a trumpet

is behind him and the composition’s

loose. Now Dolphy’s improvising

on his own with rapid breath.

I like the jogging, laid-back

rhythm accompanying him as he

flies just like a bird.

He gets frenetic. The trumpet’s

calm, fat notes to continue

our walk, with bass and drums.

You’re in a quiet place listening

to all this and feeling pleased.

You want to go on with it.

A piano interlude in the

same mood, with quiet

punctuation from the rhythm

and you tap your finger.

The head comes on again

with its haunting ode

to a passed-away hero

A tender song for

rest in peace to a

restless soul.

Dolphy has mastered it

trembling the ending and

tweeting the flute to a flurried end.

Backstage Sally

The Jazz Messengers are known

for group move with

Blakey heavy on the drums.

A quaint tune leaving us

waiting for a solo. The tenor

man honks in the Messengers’

idiom of hard bop.

A marching band with Blakey

the master of the rhythm.

Lots of instruments—a trombone

with punctuated bursts, a trumpet

with sad and glad. The marching

group goes on down the street.

A piano accomplished on top

of Blakey’s heavy foot. He

plays with finesse.

The marching combo brings

us to the end like a parade

and you’re marching in

step until the end.

8:33 A.M.

The cold and wind were so strong it was punishing. It pained in my nose and cheeks. Baladeva, without a windbreaker, said he felt cold in the chest. Yet we lasted for three laps. The flags were whipping. How good to get back into the heated car. These mornings are precious. I threw the crumbs high into the wind, and the seagulls came down squawking. They were frisky. Chanting outdoors while walking is good; you’re somehow forced to chant outloud and clear. There was no one around. But Krishna heard us, “Blowin’ in the Wind.”

Now you’re indoors, seated before Radha-Govinda. Your jazz poems are done. There’s time for something else. Tell us about the Swami. I can’t think of anything new to say. He took the holy names around the world and induced hundreds of youngsters to join him in chanting and to sit at his feet and hear Srimad Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. They came to surrender to him and take up vows of initiation. Over the years, many couldn’t keep it up, especially after his disappearance and disruption in the movement. Still, he reigns supreme in many hearts, and his mission is established in countries throughout the world. They haven’t got it quite right, but they’re offering to him.

Tell us about Krishna. He’s the hero cowherd boy. He’s captivated everyone in Vrndavana, especially the young gopis. Sometimes he appears to leave Vrndavana and leave everyone brokenhearted, but it’s just a way of showing them more affection. He’s the Supreme, as He teaches in Bhagavad-gita, and peace can only be attained when we recognize Him as the supreme proprietor, the object of all sacrifices, and everyone’s well-wisher.

Tell us about Radha. She’s the Queen of Krishna’s comforts, the most beautiful Lady in all the worlds. By Her charming qualities and talents, She captivates Krishna, who is always eager to be in Her company. They think of each other always, and one cannot live without the other.

11:16 A.M.

I received a letter from Bhakti Chris Fici, a brahmacari living at the Bhaktivedanta Asrama on the Lower East Side of NYC. He encouraged me in my writing of jazz poems. He wrote, “My own exposure to these sounds left a profound impression upon my spiritual development, the searching of Coltrane, the simplicity of Monk, the bittersweet tones of Miles, the creative audacity of Mingus—all these things, if we think and feel deeply, have parallels in our own practice of sadhana. They are wondrous expressions of the spirit, and I’m glad that you are inspired by writing them, and I wanted to let you know that I am also inspired daily by them.” Bhakta Chris informed me that he writes his own blog, Life Comes From Life. I got Dattatreya to produce hard copy of the blog for me. D. was very impressed by the “elegance” of the blog’s layout.

The pages I read dealt with the “debate” or tension between the religious contemplative life and the outgoing life of the preacher. With quotes from Thomas Merton, Bhakta Chris explored the topic and concluded that we must find a balance between our inner development and our sharing Krishna consciousness with others. The Bhaktivedanta Ashrama seems to be an ideal place for the training of brahmacaris in good association, inner development and outreach, and Bhakta Chris (an admittedly shy person) appears to be thriving there. I recommend readers to go and check out Chris Fici’s blog, Life Comes From Life (http://jivacow.blogspot.com).

12:00 P.M.

In two days, I’m receiving a visit by Paramatma dasa, of Guyana, who will stay overnight. In less than two weeks, Giriraja Swami is coming to visit. Two days after Maharaja’s visit, I am receiving a group of devotees from Baltimore. I have written about my ambiguity on receiving visitors in my book Visitors. But I think it’s healthy to receive these upcoming visits. Giriraja Swami’s visit will be especially noteworthy. I can benefit by coming out of my solitude and exchanging with Vaisnavas and attempting to serve them. Where solitude is recommended in the scriptures, it refers to avoiding the association of nondevotees. And even nondevotees can be approached to offer them Krishna’s mercy.

12:07 P.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I am writing to You from my bhajana kutir, the yellow submarine, which Sastra dasa is kindly letting me use for some years. I love the solitude here and the association of the two roommates who share the house with me. You give me many hours to be with You each day. The prime way I come to You is in the chanting of the holy names, starting with early-morning japa and going to the beach for more japa. You give me time to read about you in books by the acaryas, especially the books of my spiritual master. You give me a chance to be with You in peace just by contemplation as I sit in my chair. I can listen to devotees’ lectures. And I am able to write to You every day.

I’m writing to You. I attempt to speak person-to-Person, and it gives me great relief. I feel closer to You when I do so. I know You “read” my daily letter to You because You are interested in my spiritual development and in my relationship with You. It is wonderful that I can feel a personal relationship with You, even from my tiny position in the spiritual hierarchy of aspiring devotees. Anyone who wants You in their life can have You, You are so kind.

We have been reading about Your pastimes with Radharani and the gopis. Such reading is not forbidden, but it is recommended only when devotees are mature and are free from lust. In the madhurya-lila pastimes, You display the epitome of Your attractive, sportive qualities and show us a world beyond this material world of abominable relationship between men and women. I am listening to these lilas with caution but delight. Thank You for allowing me to do so. I promise to handle it carefully and not share it widely or publicly.

I do not confine myself to Your activities with the gopis, but as Prabhupada has advised us, I am interested in all the chapters of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, and Caitanya-caritamrta. Whatever You do and say in Your original form as Krishna and in Your Visnu expansions is nectar. I am content to hear Your glories enunciated by all the mahajanas in their prayers and explanations.

I need to be with You. I implore You to remind me to come to You deliberately and in devotion. Writing to You is important to me. I open myself to You and await Your rays of mercy to descend on me. I know You don’t have a deaf hear to me, and that is why it is so exciting to do this writing practice. You participate with me when I do it. It is a form of prayer.

Will I someday get to know You better? I hope so. I maintain a “hope against hope.” I’m not doing anything so wonderful in devotional service that You should especially favor me, but I have asabandhu, hope against hope, as mentioned by Srila Rupa Goswami in The Nectar of Devotion. The practice of writing to You itself is proactive for a person like me, and it enlivens me. It brings You closer to me, more real, more vivid. You have given me the ability to use these words, and by my little free will, I am using them.

You have sixty-four qualities, mentioned by Rupa Goswami in The Nectar of Devotion. You are most expert, powerful, pleasing, submissive, gentle, and so on. That is why we call You “Krishna,” because “Krishna” means “all-attractive.” Please attract me to You like iron filings to a magnet. Let me never stop addressing You with all the humility and devotion I can command, by Your grace.

sdgonline.org: the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #19 →

It is with sadness and heavy hearts that we bring this horrible news that our dear friend Hari Kirtan aka Harish, age 24, is no long with us on this planet. Harish is from Mayapur gurukula and a disciple of his Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami.

Harish was working at a store in Atlanta, Ga USA and as the sun was setting at 8:01 pm March 22, 2009, he was robbed and shot, which instantly took his life. The emergency medical unit was contacted, but it was too late. The shot took his life instantly. The police and investigating detectives are looking for the men connected with the incident.

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Hence the Hare Krishna chant following the color throwing is robust and joyous, even among a crowd full of members of other religions. A rock 'n' blues band leads the chant using traditional Hare Krishna words, if not traditional Indian instruments.

Why live an ordinary drab humdrum existence you can be relishing the supreme adventure at every minute living on the cutting edge of world history? By our constitutional nature we are meant to taste unlimited bliss at every minute. Unfortunately due to a misuse of our free will we have been dragged down by our foolishness into the repetition of birth,...

I often have a tendency to look for the perfect picture. When I see a beautiful scene or a rare moment, the first thing I do is grab for my camera. But I actively chose to separate myself from my camera this time in Vrndavana.

It's said that all of the holy dhams are becoming more and more covered as Kali yuga progresses. I find this to be so true in Vrndavana. On the surface, Vrndavana is bustling, dusty and dirty. It's so hard to actually photograph the REAL Vrndavana. In fact the only way one can "see" Vrndavana is through the ears. Only by hearing about Vrndavana from the self realized souls can we actually see Vrndavana as it is.

That's why this time around I have very few pictures of Vrndavana. There were only two times that I took my camera with me when I went out. One, as you can see below, is when the boat festival took place in Krsna Balarama mandir and the second time was one time during the bhajans that took place at BBGS's home.

The boat festival was an INCREDIBLE experience. For one afternoon, there was no courtyard in Krsna Balarama mandir. Instead there was a carpet of beautiful flower petals arranged in different designs. Below this beautiful carpet was a mini-lake for chota Radha Shyamasundara. In a beautiful swan boat, they gracefully took a tour around this lake to the melodic chanting of the maha-mantra led by HH BBGS, HH SRS and HG Aindra Prabhu.

Thanks to Chetan Prabhu, our farm community in the Otway Ranges has an exciting new website. You can browse retreat programs and accommodation, read up on eco-living and the farm's history, or write to the project manager Kesava Das.

    'Our motto at Hare Krishna Valley is "natural living, high thinking". Natural living means that we live a comfortable, uncomplicated life in harmony with nature. By reducing our "wants" to "needs", we manage to live in a peaceful state of mind. Peace of mind is a prerequisite to true happiness.'

I have never celebrated Holi in India before. I've heard of it, seen pictures of people covered in all sorts of colour and always dreamed of participating in it, but never have I actually been part of a Holi celebration. But as always, Krsna fulfills all the desires of a devotee and he is so expert that he does it in such a way that he brings that aspiring devotee closer to him.

So I can officially say that not only have I been part of A Holi celebration, I've been part of chota Radha Krsna's holi pastimes in Chowpatty!

In decaying societies, politics become theater. The elite, who have hollowed out the democratic system to serve the corporate state, rule through image and presentation. They express indignation at AIG bonuses and empathy with a working class they have spent the last few decades disenfranchising, and make promises to desperate families that they know will never be fulfilled. Once the spotlights go on they read their lines with appropriate emotion. Once the lights go off, they make sure Goldman Sachs and a host of other large corporations have the hundreds of billions of dollars in losses they incurred playing casino capitalism repaid with taxpayer money.

I've taken a lot of pictures throughout my travels in the past couple of weeks, but for some strange reason my SD card reader on my computer is acting up. Anyways, I finally found another way to transfer all the pictures, so here I go with posting pics!

First up is Gaura Purnima celebrations in Chowpatty, Mumbai. It was special to me in so many ways. One, it was Gaura Purnima in Chowpatty! Two, it was a chance to celebrate one of the most auspicious appearance days in the association of two of my beloved siksa gurus, HH Radhanatha Swami and HH Candramauli Swami and three, because I got to witness the sannyasa initiation of HH Bhakti Caksur Sundara Goswami.

Newsletter Enrollment We are in the midst of processing enrollment applications for new and returning students for the upcoming school year. It is great to see so many of our current students opting to re-enroll. We had set a 90% re-enrollment goal for next year and it certainly looks like we will meet and possibly surpass this important benchmark. Thank you so much for reaffirming your faith in us and what the Bhaktivedanta Academy is providing to your child.

A TRIP TO BRUCE PENINSULA

Wiarton, Ontario

Gaurachandra, a monk of Hungarian decent and I drove north early enough to escape the oncoming traffic for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Midway between Toronto and Wiarton, a three hour drive, Gaurachandra expressed an interest to stop and catnap. This meant I could have my moment of liberation in the form of walking. The route was Highway 10. The sun was bright and I was dressed light. Snow and ice were on the throw and you could hear water trickle and rush in many directions. A reflection came to me.

Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, took his cane once and poked holes in ice puddles. He went at this persistently on a walk with some of his students on a fresh and frigid morning in Europe. When asked about his doing this, he replied that it is the nature of water to flow ant hat similarly it is the nature or constitution of the atma, the soul, to serve.

I hope that with spring upon us some soul will consider their natural proclivity towards service and seek opportunities.

Upon arriving at our destination in Wiarton, we pulled up at Gould Street to meet the Hannah family of which Garuda, 61, is an avid walker/talker. Before conducting a small service of chanting and speaking, I asked for more walking and so the Hannahs and guests indulged. With that accomplished I looked at our audience of a remarkable range from 6 to 60. How to make the message of spirituality in a way to stimulate everyone? I asked for a copy of “Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead” and I charaded through a chapter. It worked. In fact, the kids were very jacked up. I guess I was perceived as a fun monk. Three of them came at me with a tickle attack and I had to beg the ambushers to back off. Only granddad Garuda could call them off.

What a day!

6 km

SMALL TOWN ENCOUNTERS AND INSPIRATIONAL NEWS

Owen Sound, Ontario

I had previously walked through this city of 22,000 on two cross Canada walks. It had been a quiet night and morning spent in a 150 year old pioneer home at Gordon’s home, friend and god brother, Gopan. The sun shone. Gaurachandra had errands to run in the downtown. I decided to trek and later he would catch up to pick me up.

It is common enough to see members of the Mennonite community. Two young males in conservative haircuts and black attire passed by on the street. The monk look was new. Courteous gestures prevailed. On a cigarette break, a young clerk from a store asked, “What does it mean?” referring to my robes.

“A monk’s clothing. Hare Krishna.”
“What do you believe?” he asked further.
“In the afterlife…you are given another chance, a chance to improve. And there is a Divine Intelligence doing good things, hoping and helping you to improve.”

He made his last puff, excused himself, and gave a handshake before getting back to newly arrived customers.

An inspirational piece of news captured my eyes. Jodi Mitic, a 32 year old corporal with the Royal Canadian Forces, lost his legs below the knee in a mine explosion in Afghanistan, and now has carbon-fibre prosthesis. Mitic ran for a charity run on his new feet which have a shape like short, curved skis. A picture shows the man glowing.

In the military spirit, his superior Gen. Walter Natynezuk said of Mitic, “When times are tough, we just suck it up and get going. We put our game faces on and do not feel sorry for ourselves.”

What a great day!

13 km

WOMEN WITH KRISHNA

Toronto, Ontario

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!”

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.

3 Km

A VINTAGE VISIT

Toronto, Ontario

The afternoon brought our small japa chanting party to Kensington Market, a multicultural enclave of modest and colourful shops. Three of them, Flashback One, Flashback Two, and the third (I forgot the name, perhaps you can guess…) are owned and run by a South American friend, Kuladev, known by locals as Roger.

The shops carry old vintage clothing. Roger wasn’t in either of the stores, but upon entering one of them as a search for him just to say, ‘hello!’ we spotted a 60’s juke box. In the 60’s we thought these music machines were high tech. When you consider that sophisticated machinery today holds thousands of music tracks in a tiny i-pod , and when you look at this monster, you start to feel that the world has indeed changed and that perhaps I’m getting old.

In any event, Glen Campbell, who was just too much of a ‘square’ for me when I was young, sang his song from the box. We are all observers of passing phases. Things do pass fast. But the mantra has been around forever and will be around to stay.

6 Km

MANTRAS AT THE CATHEDRAL

Toronto, Ontario

Since the catfish injury, I have adjusted my schedule cancelling morning walks for afternoon walks. I am relishing the ‘wee hours’, if you will, for japa chanting in the temple room with other monastic members. I am happy to see some slight progression made by the efforts of resident dwellers who meditate on the mantra together.

This togetherness was also felt by our small afternoon walking party at a time when the passions of the day start to wind down for some of us. We made our way to St. Michael’s Cathedral and were surprised to see a decent turnout of afternoon prayer people. Our group of three made ourselves at home at a pew to chant Hare Krishna while others were kneeling at prayer and moving to an icon, then to light a candle. The earnest plea of help or praise which one can call either prayer or mantra is the same intent to the same powerful person.

While sitting at the pew, I felt inner peace recalling the morning’s presentation by Ksircora, a lovely god sister, disciple of Srila Prabhupada, who told her story on coming to Krishna. The session called “Those Were The Days, My Friends!” gave her this week’s spot to talk. She mentioned that she and her friends were looking for the Truth in 1974. This took them through psychedelic journeys. When they met a young monk on Yonge Street to tell them of the glories of Krishna, they got sold on the concept. It drew some warmth and memory when she said that young person was me.

5 Km

Straight Walking

Mississauga, Ontario

This is my first limpless walking day. Hurray! I trekked through sunshine in Eglinton Avenue West, the Jewish quarter, the Jamaican quarter and then the Italian and Portuguese neighbourhoods. It was 10 km of pure joy walking and chanting.

The host to the evening satsang, devotional gathering, was Acharya, a Russian born Krishna man. He picked me up midway to his Mississauga house managed by himself and wife, Sabrina. Once guests arrived I sat to speak from a verse of the Bhagavad-gita, 18:47. An interesting look at this statement compels us to understand a person’s prescribed duty or life’s obligations more clearly. The Gita analyses four different classifications of people – the thinkers/visionaries, the administrators/law enforcers, producers and labourers.

A question came.

“How do you know your prescribed duty or which of the four groups do you belong to?”

Abbreviated answer: “1) Analyze what you like to do; 2) Observe the nature of your parents and see that in most cases their inclinations reflect in you; 3) Consult with caring peers; 4) Consult with guru; 5) Study the qualities of each group as found in chapter 18; 6) Make an astrological check; 7) Take direction from God in the heart.”

Another question.

“Why are there so many religions, so many Gods?”

Abbreviated answer: “God is one, but known by different names. There is one sun and it is also known by different names.

“Chapter 17 of the Gita explains the cause and effect behind different spiritual paths. There are various paths to accommodate the various natures of people according to three modes. Obviously some faiths are more tolerant of others while some are less. That also depends on the influence of the three modes of nature, which are satvic (in goodness), rajasic (in passion) or tamasic (in darkness).”

10 Km

Hello Halifax

Halifax, Nova Scotia

David Vest is a trucker who rides the treacherous route in Canada’s northern Territories. He is my flight neighbour on Air Canada Tango headed for Halifax. David told me about his job that on the winter’s frozen tundra you can drive for hours, see no people (especially pedestrians) and maybe pass two or three trucks in the course of one day. If you run into mechanical problems you could be a goner. You would freeze to death as there may be no help or rescue.

“In two or three weeks der won’t be no highway. It will dissolve. Everything will thaw and melt”, said David who lives in Gander, Newfoundland.

To greet me at the airport was Nitai Rama. He arranged for my stay at the tiny Halifax ashram on Quinpool, a flat one floor above a vintage clothes shop called, “This and That – Recycled Fashions”. Nitai was telling me about his success along with new monk, Jeff, on their special Indian sweet stall at the downtown Market Place. It’s a regular feature and is a big hit at the crowded Saturday venue. The sweets are unique and the monks here are a little reserved to sharing how they are made.

A group of twenty guests crammed into the ashram indulging in a killer kirtan (chanting session). We really developed the dance accompaniment. Preceding that was reflection on the verse 2:40 from the Gita wherein Krishna expresses that even the smallest endeavour made on the path of devotion is a permanent asset for the soul.

It was a very encouraging message for the group.

2 Km

Full of Life

Toronto, Ontario

Perhaps the greatest love for many of us bhakti-yogis is public chanting. I wish I could share with you the reactions of people at Kensington Market as their faces lit up – in some cases a mean to a beaming look upon seeing our small procession of fifteen joyous chanters. In reality, any market place that sprawls with folks and displays no entertainment just cannot be up to people’s expectations. Except for a young chap pounding at his braced djimbe, we provided not necessarily a show of professionalism but an explosion of joy. People gobbled up the happiness that bounced from our drums, accordion, hand cymbals and voices. As I said it is hard to describe the spontaneous response emanating from the shoppers and strolling crowd at this popular multi-mix of people.

Part two of today was a satsang, devotional gathering, in Markham, Ontario, a suburb. Our driver was Saraya, a new devotee to our ashram. What really tossed us passengers into a state of laughter was when Saraya’s GPS attempted to navigate towards our destination and we found ourselves not in Markham, but another suburb, North York, at a beer store.

You just can’t depend wholly on man-made machinery.

Our satsang included a demonstration on devotional dance. It seemed to be a real treat for hosts Bala and Padma and their guests.
Bhakti yoga is full of life.

2 Km

I usually write about essential spiritual and philosophical topics. Today i divert to inform you of an important new study on the effects of meat eating on health. Most readers of this blog are already vegetarians. But this new study is significant as it is the first to provide strong empiric evidence of the effects of meat eating on human life span. Red meat has been found to be a major cause of premature death.

The results of a study of 500,000 middle-aged and older Americans found that those who consumed about four ounces of red meat a day (the equivalent of about a small hamburger) were more than 30 percent more likely to die during the 10 years they were followed, mostly from heart disease and cancer.

Previous research had found a link between red meat and an increased risk of heart disease and cancer, but the new study is the first large examination of the relationship between eating meat and overall risk of death, and is by far the most detailed.

Among women, those who ate the most red meat were 36 percent more likely to die for any reason, 20 percent more likely to die of cancer and 50 percent more likely to die of heart disease. Men who ate the most meat were 31 percent more likely to die for any reason, 22 percent more likely to die of cancer and 27 percent more likely to die of heart disease.

"The bottom line is we found an association between red meat and processed meat and an increased risk of mortality," said Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute, who led the study published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"The uniqueness of this study is its size and length of follow-up," said Barry M. Popkin, a professor of global nutrition at the University of North Carolina, who wrote an editorial accompanying the study. "This is a slam-dunk to say that, 'Yes, indeed, if people want to be healthy and live longer, consume less red and processed meat.' "

The American Meat Institute dismissed the findings in a statement saying that "meat products are part of a healthy, balanced diet, and studies show they actually provide a sense of satisfaction and fullness that can help with weight control. Proper body weight contributes to good health overall."

That's a pretty lame rebuttal of a scientific study which proved that the 71,000 persons who died in the course of the study were the heaviest red meat eaters in the group of half a million.

In addition to health benefits, reducing red meat in the human diet would greatly reduce water shortages, global pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and cut energy consumption. Eliminating red meat would effectively reduce the murder rate of millions and millions of cows and bulls by 100%, thus greatly improving the collective karma of all human beings on this planet.

But don't expect that to happen anytime soon. When asked what he would like to eat the first time he boarded Air Force One, the presidential airplane, Mr. Obama asked for a cheeseburger with fries.

More effective than any scientific study to change people's eating habits would be massive distribution of Krishna prasadam. That was Srila Prabhupada's prescription for the world. It was also his secret weapon for creating devotees out of red meat melechas. If a study was done, and the devotees were honest, it would be seen that none of them had a higher taste for chanting the holy names, but all of them had a taste for delicious prasadam.

Sannyasa means ultimate success, because this human life is meant for becoming disgusted with this material life: "No more." Material life means to take a body and enjoy this material ahara-nidra, sleeping twenty-four hours, eating like elephant, and sex life like a monkey, these animals. This is material life, eating, sleeping, mating, and always afraid of. This is material life. And human life means to take freedom from these four things: no more afraid, no more sex, no more hankering after eating or sleeping. That is success. Everyone... You'll see in the sparrow in the morning. They're enjoying sex. So this is material life: eating, sleeping, mating and fearing. Ahara-nidra-bhaya-maithunam ca. And spiritual life means to become free from all this nonsense. That is spiritual life. They do not know what is spiritual life. The whole world, they do not know what is spiritual life. This is spiritual life, to become free from these four abominable things.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- February 26, 1976, Mayapura

I am now in Delhi after 1 or 2 days to Vrindavan approx 30 Mar to Govardhan 2, 3 May Delhi 4 May to Bangalore 6 May to Salem 8 May Nrsimha Caturdasi Salem then in South India various places 12 or 13 June Hyderabad 15 June morning to Delhi, afternoon train to Haridvar 19 Delhi to Surat 24 June Wed Rathayatra in Baroda 27 June approx Jamnagar Rathayatra 29 Jamnagar to Mumbai 30 June to Munich then Prague 2 July to London

After Indradyumna Swami spoke about Bhaktisiddhanta, Sri Prahlad das sang a wonderful Bhajan.

Dallas, TX
2009-02-13

Download: 2009-02-13 - Sri Prahlad das - Hare Krishna.mp3

Visvambhara das: The latest issue of the Bhaktivedanta Academy newsletter is now online. The Bhaktivedanta Academy (formerly New Raman Reti School), a Krishna-centered educational institution located in Alachua, Florida, currently serves 50 Pre-K thru 6th grade students, making it the largest devotional school in North America.

By Antony Brennan

Krishna by His practical example taught us to give protection to the cows, and Srila Prabhupada spoke often with great force and feeling on the need to protect cows. As time progresses and as more and more of us live in urban environments, cow protection seems as if it could slip through our fingers and disappear.

Babhru writes to say that you can read devotee comments and leave your own on The Inner Life of Srila Prabhupada here.

Evolution is as much in doubt as the Earth goes round the Sun

- Professor Richard Dawkins

Evolution is a myth. There is no evidence to support it.

- Caru das

Reading on into Denton's book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis he has nicely made the distinction between the two different theories of evolution that Darwin put forward in his Origin of Species.

Special Theory of Evolution

The "Special Theory of Evolution" is that through genetic mutation and natural selection different species arise.

Of this there is no doubt. The mechanisms have been observed and documented, especially in cases such as the Hawaiian fruit flies or the Lenski bacteria.

In this way a bird gradually becomes several species of bird, a cat gradually becomes several species of cat.

This theory is in about as much doubt as that the Earth goes round the Sun.

General Theory of Evolution

The "General Theory of Evolution" is that all diversity of life comes about through this mechanism.

In this way an amoeba, over millions of years, gradually becomes a bird and a cat.

There is, as yet, no direct experimental evidence for this.

The evidence for it, inasmuch as it exists, takes the form of the extrapolation of the micro-evolution of the proven special theory of evolution to a higher order of phenomena; the overarching narrative, which seems to work and provides interesting and useful insights in a variety of fields; and the lack of an alternative narrative that does not involve supernatural processes.

The following is adapted from news.iskcon.com

=====================================

Sastra-Dana, the US program that places donated copies of Srila Prabhupada’s books in public locations where they are properly kept and read, is now supplementing its main course with a lighter snack: its own full-color newspaper.

Sastra-Dana already stocks books in libraries, schools, motels, hotels, hospital waiting rooms, government offices, coffee shops, and nail and hair salons. But its newspaper, 16 Rounds, could find an even larger audience.

“Newspaper racks can be found at all street corners in every city and town in the US,” says editor Mahat-Tattva Dasa. “We set out to different locations in San Diego to see how much they are in demand, and wherever we went – restaurants, bars, grocery stores, yoga studios, clothing stores, and more – we found people reading newspapers.”

Sastra Dana staff got the idea when they realized how many religious and spiritual organizations use papers to spread their message and connect with an audience. At their base in San Diego alone, Mahat-Tattva noticed many Christian and Jewish newspaper racks at stores and other secular locations. And alternative community publication The San Diego City Beat prints and sells 50,000 copies a week.

“I thought, if they can do it, why can’t we?” Mahat-Tattva says.

The resulting 16 Rounds newspaper, based directly upon Srila Prabhupada’s teachings and aimed at the 16 to 35 age group, is already making an impact on the people of San Diego. “It’s only just out, but already I seem to see people reading it everywhere,” says Mahat-Tattva. “A group in the nearby town of Ocean Beach, a thirty-year old man walking out of a clothing store, and most memorably a guy sitting in his Mercedes Benz, his shiny, expensive shoes sticking out through the car window, his seat reclined way back, his expression serious as he contemplated the content of our paper.”

Readers are already sending in letters, with one commenting, “I’m halfway through the first issue of 16 Rounds and it’s a pleasure to read. I enjoyed the article on evidence of reincarnation, and I think any intelligent person who reads it will see the logic in reincarnation.”

ISKCON book distribution strategist Vaisesika Dasa thinks the paper will go a long way. “I found 16 Rounds to be one of the most useful preaching tools I’ve ever seen. It’s kept everywhere young people hang out, it’s topical, it’s succinct, and it takes them to the next step.”

The next step is to read Prabhupada’s books and visit San Diego’s “Krishna Lounge,” where every Thursday at 7pm guests can “relax and take a break from the material stresses of life” by chanting, eating a vegetarian feast, and taking part in spiritual conversation.

To contribute to 16 Rounds in content, services, or funds, visit www.sastradana.com/donate.

If anyone wants to get my tweets:

http://twitter.com/pandu108h

Gaura Krishna das: We have been contemplating on all the sweet and special experiences that we got here and our hearts go to all of you who helped us in heartfelt gratitude and appreciation.

By Your servants

It is with sadness and heavy hearts that we bring this horrible news that our dear friend Hari Kirtan aka Harish, age 24, is no long with us on this planet. Harish is from Mayapur gurukula and a disciple of his Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami.

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

From Sita-Pati Prabhu's blog, an enlightening piece that challenges us not to fall into fundamentalism-especially regarding linking the scientific theory of evolution with atheism.

Click here to read more.

Once Prabhupada said. If he was speaking about their natural tendencies towards arts, that´s a fact, no doubts. During Mayapur Festival, this year again, russians were the ones who delighted us every night on stage with their dynamics dramas and dancings. Some indians or australians actors helped them, and gurukulis and americans played their own dramas, but, like during all the festival, russians faces were the most seen, even on stage.

read more

Date: Sri Gaura Purnima, March 11th, 2009

Topic: Lord Gauranga

Speaker: HH Bhakti Purushottama Swami

---

So today is the most auspicious appearance day celebration of Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu. In Bhagavad-gita Krishna says, “To understand the subject matter of My appearance and activities, which is transcendental it is very, very important because just by understanding the transcendental nature of My appearance and activities one will become free from this material entanglement.”

read more

Lecturing on Bhagavad-gita in New York on 17 May 1966, Srila Prabhupada said, "I think there is a line in Shakespeare's literature, 'The lunatic, mad, and the poet' or something like that, 'all compact in thought.' " Actually Srila Prabhupada was referring to the play, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Act V, Scene I wherein in it is said, "The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact." "So a madman and an atma-rati person, self-satisfied man, outwardly, you will find there is no difference, but inwardly, oh, there is vast difference."

read more

part 2

Nitai writes me:

I have been trying to find devotees' comments on the recent book published online, "O My Friend", by Babhru Dasa and Tripurari Swami. not many devotees seem to have said anything about this yet but it is huge statement I think. It is all about Srila Prabhupada's svarupa, saying that he clearly showed himself to be a sakha. I have seen you quote Tripurari Maharaja before and I like your blog so I thought I might ask if you would write what you think of this booklet? The website for the book is http://www.cowdust.us

My reply:

The booklet that you mention is by Babhru das, and has a Forward by Swami BV Tripurari Swami. Babhru does quote Swami Tripurari throughout and his influence is evident in it.

The booklet is very nicely laid out. I heard about it before and had looked at it cursorily, but hadn't read it through. After receiving your email I read it through in order to say something about it with an informed opinion.

I'm familiar with the arguments presented in this booklet, and have considered them in the past (which is why I had only glanced at it before you wrote me). From a rational point of view it makes sense. I have no qualification to comment on Srila Prabhupada's svarupa, but if I were to say something about the opinion that it is in sakhya-rasa, I'd say that it's entirely possible. Whether or not it is actually the fact can only really be known by "going there".

For myself, I am a long way from bhava. I have full faith that Krishna within my heart and externally will make all arrangements for me, as He has done up to this point, so I am not worried about anything.

Over the past year I've found myself more and more giving up the idea of becoming something, or striving to be something, and becoming more comfortable with the ideal of simply "being myself". That's the meaning of self-realization. Who you are is revealed from within. You don't have to worry about becoming something, or reaching for some higher rasa or state of spiritual being. It's just about being yourself, and it starts and ends with service to the Supreme Lord.

What calls our progress in self realization is watering the root of our spiritual practice.

I hope something of this is of some value to you.

in service,
Sita-pati das

I was on the temple walkway/veranda up top, shooting down. Looking back through my pictures I shot about 10 pictures in 5 seconds of the initial "Explosion" and that was all the time I had… so be ready. It is an explosion…think atom bomb.That cloud of colored dust will come from no where and will completely engulf the crowd and the temple in a matter of 10-20 seconds.

22 March 2009--To be here in that place where 5,000 years ago Lord Sri Krishna displayed His most intimate and amazing pastimes is a truly remarkable experience. There is no place like Braj, Sri Vrindavan Dhama in this entire universe. It is non-different from the spiritual world. Today in the early morning I headed out with my wife, Vishnupriya devi...

There are hundreds of chilies slowly ripening on my eight large bushes. The four smaller plants are a bit behind their big brothers. I think because they don't receive a lot of morning sun, but rather noon to 4pm sun, they are ripening slowly. Perhaps that's speculation. Anyway, I am in no hurry.

It appears they are either Yellow Habaneros, New Mexico Suave Yellow Habaneros, or maybe Red Savinas (if they go red). We shall see. I cut one off a week ago and tried it while still green. Blisteringly hot!!

My mixed lettuce is growing amazingly fast. Some display a rusty tinge, since that is their natural complexion. They are planted very close together, so I decided to thin them out by pulling up small plants when I need them, allowing the rest to grow large and then picking leaf by leaf.

And as for my rocket - well - it's just shooting up, like....a rocket. I can hardly pick it fast enough. Neither my dad nor my son really enjoy it's bitterness, so it's just me. The leaves are very large (as opposed to the wild rocket leaves, which are tiny), so a few eaten raw with every meal really gets the digestion moving. We don't eat enough bitter herbs, so I feel blessed to be able to go out and pick them on demand. Such are the joys of the home garden.

Don't laugh, now it's possible.

Umesh Patel from USA wrote me a letter yesterday, and I'm sharing the contents with you:

"Hare Krishna Kurma! We all love Gulab Jamuns but my mom has diabetes so I was searching for a sugar substitute.

I tried so many things but it didn't work well. But, I tried Agave Nectar and it worked as good as sugar. Agave nectar doesn't boost your blood sugar level like sugar, and at the same time it's 4 times sweeter than sugar.

On the top of that, you don't have to make sugar syrup because it comes in a liquid form like Honey. Hope you will try this and share with other people."

Any comments, dear readers?

The Sunday Feast 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.

This year Radharani was so merciful that she allowed me to stay in her dham for almost 10 days. All trips to Vrndavana are supremely special, but this one was more than special. It was heart enriching experience. Not only was I granted permission to come to the holy dham, but my Guru Maharaja was in Vrndavana.

Being around Guru Maharaja is always a purifying and deep experience and this time was no exception. Niranjana Swami’s health is quite bad at the moment, but despite being in so much pain, his meditation is on how to help and care for devotees. He has no consideration to his own needs and comforts but is always trying to find a way to extend himself to anyone, whether they be a direct disciple or not.

Oftentimes we hear and read about the selfless service attitude of Srimati Radharani. But that’s just it, we hear and read. It is because of the causeless mercy of Srila Prabhupada that we have such amazing devotees, such as HH Niranjana Swami, who are showing us in action what it actually means to genuinely possess and practice these qualities of devotional service.

It is actually a very sobering experience to witness such selfless love and dedication. For me, it was also a heart operation because it was an eye-opener to how selfish and self-absorbed I actually am. Imagine being in intense pain and focusing only on the problems and spiritual welfare of others. It is mind-boggling.

But this is also the mood of Srimati Radharani. At whatever cost, despite whatever pain she herself undergoes, all she cares about is the happiness of her beloved Shyam. In fact, it is said that she considers that very pain to be her greatest happiness as long as Krsna is happy. Such an exalted state of being! To want nothing but the happiness of someone else.

It is my hope that one day I can imbibe even one insignificant sliver of this selfless love that my Guru Maharaja possesses. I pray that my greatest happiness will always be seeing the spiritual happiness of others and that I can be of some service to my Guru Maharaja.

March 22, 3:30 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

My night passed calmly in sleep. But I refused to get up when I woke at 3:00 A.M. I finally got up at 3:30 A.M., feeling a little grumpy with myself for staying in bed. In the Bhagavad-gita recitation, what caught my attention was several references to the devotee becoming liberated in the near future. I finally began my chanting at 4:05 A.M. I finished my eight rounds quickly by chanting in a barely audible whisper. I got a headache at about 5:00 A.M., just when Baladeva came up. He cracked some jokes about old age. He said that when a person reaches old age, he is entitled to be grumpy and that whatever he says is the absolute truth. He doesn’t have to take a bath or change his clothes. His essay on “Turning Seventy” is summarized in two words: “Piss Off!” I hope I’m not such a prematurely grumpy old man. After all, Prabhupada started his youthful preaching in America when he was seventy years old. I can’t imitate that, but I can at least keep my head above the water and be a clean old man who writes his lively journal. And a man who gets more serious about his japa. This morning I ran through the mantras more mechanically than usual without devotion. But I was happy to get them done and in quick order. Now we’ll go to the beach, and I’ll finish the last eight. I’m happy to be alive and under Prabhupada’s shelter.

Say You’re Mine

Muted trumpet of Donald Byrd

is nice and lyrical, the sax behind

him. Say you’re mine sentiment

in the air. He’s asking her

to be his.

Then he improvises liltingly but

bop. We’re on a lovely trip

with piano comping behind him.

Stepping off the mountain, walking

down the path strewn with

wildflowers, rapid notes

issue from his horn.

Calm and assured. The baritone

sax of Pepper Adams comes in

a bit lazy and yet assertive,

in curving roller-coaster lines.

The piano continues the mood

pleasant and romantic, he

places his fingers down on

the theme and makes the chords go right.

Byrd finishes it out, asking

if you’ll be mine in exact terms

of poetic line.

We’ve been somewhere magic, on a walk

with fine musicians.

Blue

Walking bass brings us in

for several bars, then

Sonny starts his thematic

improvisation.

Piano touching lightly just to let

us know he’s there. Sonny puts

lots of notes together fast

while keeping the pace medium.

You can relax and nod your head.

Piano is accomplished on a beat

kept by the bass, which is walking

steady throughout.

Sonny begins to assert. He trades

with Max Roach on drums, who

solos while keeping time. He

goes for a while.

Sonny asserts, a man of power

and swagger, he plays the

blues. Softer now to come

close, we’re hearing close

to every note attentive because

it’s worth it.

This medium-tempo blues

is stretching out eleven minutes

and you can be there in

a mood of music trance.

Sonny wants to say more.

He trades fours with Max

and that’s exciting. Who will

have the last word? How do

they know how to pick up just

where the other left off?

Blue:

it leaves as it began,

walking bass and Sonny’s theme.

10:13 A.M.

Aside from the psychological theories of why you’re getting headaches, such as depression, anxiety, disobedience to the spiritual master’s order to preach (causing inner conflict), etc., you’re probably getting rebound headaches. I’ve been aware of them for maybe ten years but recently read an explanation in a brochure. The problem is how to get out of the rebound cycle. The experts say you have to stop taking the “offending” medication for several months. They don’t give satisfactory answers as to how to stop the headache pain that comes when you stop taking your medication. After all, it was the headaches that came first, not the medication. Some advise that you try a different medicine, but that usually doesn’t work. If they say take no medicine at all, that’s unacceptable to most headache sufferers, who can’t endure the pain. They’d rather be caught in the rebound cycle, where they can at least get temporary relief daily, then suffer stoically with no medication at all. I used to subscribe to an online journal for headache sufferers, and many of them complained about the insensitivity and lack of knowledge of doctors in treating the rebound syndrome. I’ve written about this in the journal before, but someone just reminded me that I probably have rebound headache, and I had to admit I think it’s true. I’ve made my bed, and now I have to lie in it.

A person may have rebound headaches, but the medicines are not the ultimate cause of the headaches. They come from the soul’s entanglement with the material body. Everyone who comes to this world by karma and accepts a material body is subject to birth, old age, disease and death. I get headaches, and someone else suffers from another disease. Liberation from the material body is the solution to release from all diseases. Prabhupada was lenient about devotees seeking material remedies to their diseases, but he said the result of good health was up to Krishna. In the meantime, we should go on with our prescribed duties in Krishna consciousness as far as possible, despite our physical disease.

11:30 A.M.

I have a headache now and can’t write smoothly. I probably shouldn’t be attempting to write at all but should be lying back in my chair or in bed. I received a letter from Malati devi dasi inviting me to come to the Festival of Inspiration in May. But I’ll have to tell her I can’t make up my mind yet. I’ll wait until May to see if I feel fit to make the considerable journey to New Vrndavana.

The relaxation session I do with Baladeva is still promising. Yesterday we played a CD of ocean sounds to enhance the relaxation. But it had the sound of a woman’s voice, and that was disturbing. Her voice had the effect of the Sirens in Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, sailors who heard the singing of the Sirens would steer their ships toward the sound and get shipwrecked on the rocks. I won’t listen to that CD again. So far, I relax my body and then do some talking, saying what’s on my mind. Then I go silent for awhile and just relax deeply. It’s a soothing break in the day. We might develop it into a more comprehensive session.

1:30 P.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I approach You as Your subject. You are my Master. You have the extraordinary, inconceivable ability to have close personal relationships with the countless living beings scattered throughout the universes and with You in the spiritual sky. Thus I can be confident that when I write, You take the time to read my letter and consider it. I try to speak sincerely, without pretense. This means I must be humble and be aware of my lowly condition. On the one hand, I am very advanced and fortunate in the evolution of living beings. I have attained the human form of life and have been accepted by a glorious spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. I have been engaged in his service for over forty years. This puts me in good stead with Your Lordship, because Prabhupada is very dear to You, and therefore You recognize his sincere disciples. That’s my fortunate side. But my unfortunate state is that I have not advanced much in devotional service over the years. I have done a lot of outward service to my spiritual master and his mission, but it has not melted my heart to the chanting of the holy name, the hearing of Your pastimes, and the burning desire to help other living beings by giving them Krishna consciousness.

I am hardhearted and slow.

But You are very munificent, especially in Your form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. You recognize a little service and see the good side of an aspiring devotee. I am counting on this magnanimity of Yours. I would like You to set a devotional fire under me in my late years and help me increase my service. I want to please You and get to know You better. If You see fit, I would like to take shelter of Your eternal consort, Srimati Radharani, and receive Her blessings. She is the Mother of devotion. Srila Prabhupada says we should chant the Hare Krishna mantra like a child crying to its mother, and Mother Hara (Radharani) will recommend us to You.

May I beg these things of You? Please inspire me to become a better person. Help me to come out of my fragile shell and become a real Vaisnava. Let me honor the devotees and be glad to see them. Enable me to converse and chant with them with a happy heart. I know it is not good for me to maintain envy; please help me to banish it. I would like to feel good in the company of devotees. They wish me well, and I should reciprocate in kind. Desiring to improve, I place myself at Your lotus feet and the feet of my spiritual masters.

read more sdgonline.org: the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #18 →

Bhagavad-gita As It Is 10.8 - Become a wise person by accepting the teachings of Bhagavad-gita.

You cannot manufacture preaching. You must do preaching according to the principles ordered by your spiritual master. You cannot manufacture your own way of preaching. That is required. There must be some leader. Under the leadership. Yasya prasadad bhagavat... Why it is said? Everywhere, in the office, there is some immediate boss. So you have to please him. That is service. Suppose in office, in a department there is office superintendent. And if you do in your own way, "Yes, I'm doing my business," and the office superintendent is not pleased, do you think that kind of service is nice? No. Similarly, we have got, everywhere we have got immediate boss. So we must work. That is systematic. If everyone manufactures, invents his own way of life, then there must be chaos.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- December 5, 1973, Los Angeles

This letter was sent to me by a friend, a reaction to the report of the road accidents following this year's Gaura-purnima festival. It wasn't really meant for publication, but it's very relevant for devotees everywhere, so I'll publish it here without disclosing the author's name.

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Reading about the recent road accidents here makes me very sad. At the same time I know that road safety is not being ignored in India only, but all over ISKCON, including Germany. At least here materialists are often more responsible than devotees in this regard; HH Bir Krishna Maharaja writes about this on his website www.bkgoswami.com.

Only recently did I travel with devotees by car when I noticed that I was the only one using a seat belt. Everyone else, including driver and co-driver, didn't—in spite of snow and ice on the road, and the fact that German law imposes heavy fines on those caught without seat belt.

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Vraja Dhama is picking me up a copy of "Human Devolution" from Mayapura.

Denton's book Evolution: A Theory in Crisis is turning out to be good. It is quite nuanced and so far has done a good job of painting the picture of Darwin's presentation of his theory and the climate in which he did it.

Denton doesn't paint Darwin as a villain or indulge in needless character assassination. Instead he explains Darwin's own doubts and reservations about his theory and presenting it to the public. He also explains the religious reaction to the theory.

Actual examination of the theory has not yet begun in earnest, but Denton has pointed out that macro-evolution has never been observed in practice. He points out that Darwin's Origin contains two theories - one the special theory of evolution, and the other the general theory of evolution.

The special theory of evolution is "micro-evolution" - species variation is caused through random mutation and natural selection. In this way new versions of the same animal come about. This is well-documented and pretty widely accepted.

The general theory of evolution states that all diversity of life forms arises through this mechanism ("macro-evolution"). Evidence that supports the special theory of evolution is used to support the general theory - for example, Richard Lenski's bacteria experiment that covered twenty years [NY Times article].

Denton points out that scientific experiments verifying the general theory of evolution have never been carried out. He points out initially that if no experiments can be devised to do so then it is not a valid scientific hypothesis, as it is not falsifiable. Points for that one.

He also points out that Darwin's theory has become in the hands of contemporaries a dogma, something that it was not for Darwin himself.

I like the way that Denton does not descend into the polarization indulged in by contemporary defenders and attackers of Darwin's theory, depersonalizing Darwin and turning him into a hated or revered symbol. That kind of dogmatism and fanaticism is a real turn-off for me.

by Bir Krishna Das Maharaja

I mentioned that I would write about living longer in the present body. In order to understand this topic one has to understand the larger topic of how the material energy affects the bodies and minds of devotees, whether or not they are aware of it, or even in denial of it.

If we had the siddhis that yogis have, such as laghima, becoming light enough to float on a sunbeam, or mahima, becoming very big or heavy—and I am not talking about getting fat—or prapti, being able to reach out and grab something from a distant locale, we could definitely ignore certain aspects of the material nature. But since we don't have these siddhis, it behooves us to be aware of how the material nature affects our bodies.

It is amazing to me how devotees are oftentimes in denial of this: in our diet, sleeping habits, use of spiritual paraphernalia, eating habits, safety procedures, etc.

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Bharat Chandra Dasa: To fulfill Srila Prabhupada’s 50% mission means to propagate and implement varnasrama dharma. To propagate and implement varnasrama dharma means to propagate and implement it globally.

By Matt Reichman

In celebration of the Indian Holi Festival, also known as the Festival of Colors, the Sri Sri Radha Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork opens its doors to celebrants of all types -- from full-blooded Indians with an understanding of Holi, to ne'er-do-wells who simply get a kick out of chucking dyed flour at strangers.