1968 April 29: "Try to talk about Krishna Consciousness to whomever you may meet. It doesn't matter whether a man is convinced or not, but by your sincere attempts to convince others you will get superior strength and knowledge."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 April 29: "Do not be worried that there is only yourself. You will get more doubtlessly. Don't be agitated. If you have got a nice place and a Sankirtana Party, then success is assured."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 April 29: "On page 13 of Three Essays, manasinah is the correct word. And regarding KRSNA chapter 31, page 4, top, the word Hrdaya is correct. You must always ask the Lord's grace to make you in the right position."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Please share your realisations with other devotees from around the world...simply send me an introduction email and I will be happy to make you a member:

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

1970 April 29: "On page 13 of Three Essays, manasinah is the correct word. And regarding KRSNA chapter 31, page 4, top, the word Hrdaya is correct. You must always ask the Lord's grace to make you in the right position."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 April 29: "I think it will be best if you come here sometime soon at your convenience and we can discuss together our future plans for India. I will be very glad to see you both at that time."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 April 29: "Why divert your attention in this way? There are so many books I have presented already, so whatever you have got, just become expert in that. There are many things still yet to be learned."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1968 April 29: "Try to talk about Krishna Consciousness to whomever you may meet. It doesn't matter whether a man is convinced or not, but by your sincere attempts to convince others you will get superior strength and knowledge."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 April 29: "Do not be worried that there is only yourself. You will get more doubtlessly. Don't be agitated. If you have got a nice place and a Sankirtana Party, then success is assured."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1973 April 29: "Regarding purchasing the Washington D.C. Temple, yes, we can do it. So you negotiate, and we shall purchase in name of M-V Trust."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 29: "So I am very much encouraged by this political field in America. But our political devotees must always stay firmly fixed up in the regulative principles so they will be actually brahmanas."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 29: "I want to come to Stockholm. If possible schedule a meeting with some important men or if some of the leading citizens want to meet with me. Please fix up a time when I can come."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1973 April 29: "Why divert your attention in this way? There are so many books I have presented already, so whatever you have got, just become expert in that. There are many things still yet to be learned."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 April 29: "Regarding purchasing the Washington D.C. Temple, yes, we can do it. So you negotiate, and we shall purchase in name of M-V Trust."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 29: "I want to come to Stockholm. If possible schedule a meeting with some important men or if some of the leading citizens want to meet with me. Please fix up a time when I can come."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 29: "So I am very much encouraged by this political field in America. But our political devotees must always stay firmly fixed up in the regulative principles so they will be actually brahmanas."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1970 April 29: "I think it will be best if you come here sometime soon at your convenience and we can discuss together our future plans for India. I will be very glad to see you both at that time."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

“THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION”

Lecture by Matsya Avatara Dasa

Naples, Castello Angioino, 20th December 2008

Conference “The Science of Meditation”

YOGA: THE SCIENCE OF UNION

The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, literally meaning "to unite, to connect". In fact Yoga is the science for the reintegration of the individual self with the supreme Self, of the infinitesimal consciousness with the cosmic Consciousness.

Bhagavad-gita describes various types of Yoga and in his very famous treatise on the Yogasutras constituting one of the foremost and most important Psychology Schools created by mankind, Patanjali defines eight stages of development of the Yogic discipline (Ashtanga Yoga) where meditation, dhyana, only constitutes the second-last stage.

Before entering a meditative state, the aspirant yogi must purify his mind and heart, abstaining from those activities that are contrary to the spiritual evolution (yama) and engaging in the activities that favor it (niyama). Next, one should become expert in keeping postures, or asanas, that enable us to become less disturbed by our body, and then learn the art of breathing, pranayama. By turning within and withdrawing the senses from their objects (pratyahara) and trying to focus our attention resources towards one direction (dharana) the yogi prepares for meditation proper, called dhyana, where the flow of one's attention is not distracted any more by external interference. This meditation will enable him to attain a stage of complete inner absorption, defined as samadhi. The stages that precede samadhi are required to solve the conflicts between the various psychic structures and functions, through the harmonization of personality, before aspiring to a complete absorption in the meditation seed, the bija, what to speak of the self. 

The approach to meditation must be gradual, because first we need to develop some knowledge derived from the attainment of the awareness of small truths, without the recurring presumption of having conquered Reality, Truth, and final enlightenment. What happens during meditation is a continued and progressive realization of Reality that is slowly revealed until it becomes apparent, manifest, clear and natural, so natural that it is impossible to conceive something different from it.

For example, regarding the awareness of our being different from the body, it can come all of a sudden, as in the case of a diagnosed terminal disease, an irreversible degenerative pathology that forces the patient to concentrate not on the physical structure that is subject to that devastation, but on his real self. In this perspective, as reported in many ECM works in various Italian hospitals and health assistance centers, death should not be seen as a physical event, as something concrete, but rather as an abstract concept, because there is not a real end of something, but rather a transformation in something else. On the other hand, de-identification can happen as a progressive goal of an introspective process that enables us to understand the body as something that is external to us, with which we are not identifying. However, in this realization we see the body as a valuable instrument, useful and treasured, we can employ for further knowledge and experience. 

THE SPIRITUAL BEING AND HIS BODIES

The human body and the human personality are not the all-in-all of the person, but they are merely aspects of the person. The eminently divine part of ourselves considers such aspects, and thus the human dimension in general, as a limitation, a stricture, a sort of prison - the soul's cage in Plato's metaphor. However, we should not see it as something obsessive and oppressive, because it is a structure evolved by matter and its degree of evolution is comparable to the degree of elevation of the consciousness that lives in it. Therefore every person inhabits a particular body and, with it, carries a particular pathology or state of health. 

The science of health or Ayurveda (the Sanskrit word ayur means life, strength, health) studies in details the nature of the human being and his relationship with a vast array of energies. It expands the scenario of interaction between body, psyche and intra-individual consciousness to an inter-individual level, therefore the behavior, as the sum of the actions of the individual, is considered as the result not only of one's individual apparatus, but also as the result of its interaction with the body, psyche and consciousness of others. This factor is very important because it is the basis of many conflicts that afflict man at present both at an individual level and at the collective level; often conflicts that we cannot solve internally are projected externally, on the people around us, both near and far.

The connection between the various elements of creation cannot simply be reduced to relationships but it permeates the entire Universe: just think of Bell's Theorem, enunciating that two particles in contact, sharing the same experience, remain in resonance and synchrony even when they are separated, and by activating a modification on one of them this variation also simultaneously extended to the other, in no time.

Thus in the Universe there is nothing that is separated from something else: everything is inside the network and, as on the micro level we can identify networks and neural circuits, on the macro level we can see much greater webs, that extend beyond the single individual.

In Vedas, in Gita, in the Upanishads, in the Yogasutras and in other texts of the Indo-Vedic tradition we can find descriptions of these concepts expressed in an incredibly specialized language and in general we find the vision of man as a creature that is composed by many "bodies" or layers, that go from the grossest to the subtlest and are not limited only to the material and psychic bodies. 

Rising toward increasingly subtle levels, after the energy level we find the mind level, manomaya kosha, therefore the energy sheath depends on the mind. Thus pranamaya kosha directly depends on our mind, on our state of mind, and therefore it is not possible to develop ecological energies to support the body if we do not take care of the rehabilitation of the mind first. This is the message transmitted by the rishis, the Spiritual Masters that belong to the Indo-Vedic Tradition, a basic teaching on which we need to work immediately, because as explained by Krishna in Bhagavad-gita, the mind can be our best friend or our worst enemy. It can be the vehicle for the healing process or the cause for disease, infirmity or paralysis. Thus the mind is the priority in the search for health, even before the physical body, because the physical body depends on it, as in Juvenal's motto, “mens sana in corpore sano”. In general, mind and body are so inter-dependent and so interacting, that some damage in either of them is almost immediately transmitted to the other, therefore they must be treated at the same time. For this reason, Patanjali teaches that the first step on the path of spiritual realization, codified in his Yogasutras, some fundamental ethical norms (yama and niyama) for the harmonization of the psycho-physical structure. The mind sheath is supported by the intellectual sheath, vijnanamaya kosha. At the level of the psychic dimension intellect (buddhi) is constituted by deep beliefs on which people built their lives, consciously or unconsciously. Such deep beliefs lie in the intellect and are the support of the mental structure. Ananda means inexhaustible happiness, bliss. It cannot be compared to sense pleasure, as sense pleasure does not even constitute the shadow of such happiness. Euphoria, excitement, orgasm: they all have a beginning and an end, and therefore the wise people consider them as illusory products of human life. When the living being is completely satisfied in the self he does not have any other aspiration; one who feels ananda experiences a sense of communion with all creatures, wants to be a friend for everyone and becomes benevolent towards all living beings. In fact, conflicts are a symptom of dissatisfaction and suffering. Ananda is essential in order to remain healthy: a popular Neapolitan saying goes, "God helps the merry hearts". The intellectual sheath is thus supported by a sheath of bliss or essential joy, anandamaya kosha, fundamental for our physical well being, because inner satisfaction guarantees the harmonization and the balance of all the other structures - physical, energetic, psychic, while a depressed mood and negative emotions affect the immune system by depressing it through hormonal de-synchronization, as it was also explained in the lecture of Professor Genovesi.

Ananda belongs to atman: the real source of energy of the person is of spiritual nature. It is neither physical nor psychic, but spiritual energy, and besides ananda, its characteristics are eternity, sat, and consciousness, cit. We are spiritual entities, we are atman and sat, cit, ananda are characteristics that we cannot possibly lose, no matter what happens, because they are intrinsic, they cannot be separated from what we objectively and intimately are, although they may become more or less veiled by ignorance, neglected or atrophied.

As is intimated in Christian theology, the name of God and God are non-different. At a lecture in Paris at the Salle Playel on 14 June 1974 Srila Prabhupada said this: "Here it is said that 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.' "

Vaisnavas understand that Krishna's Name and Krishna are non-different, especially in Kali-yuga. "The actual fact is that the Lord is non-different from His name." (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.15.25/purport.)

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.4 - Action in inaction, and inaction in action.

Harinam with BB Govinda Swami in Brussels Belgium part1

April 28, 2:00 A.M.

It has now become a regular habit that I wake up in the middle of the night from a dream and take some time to get back to sleep. Last night, it was better. I didn’t wake until 11:00 P.M. After that, I didn’t sleep much. I got up at 2:00 A.M. with a clear head. My thoughts were on my shoulder, which was aching. I called Baladeva to put on my sling so I could have a minimum of comfort.

4:36 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

I have been falling into the habit of being drowsy during my rounds, perhaps from lack of sleep. This morning, I was better. I had a problem with moving the beads. I would move the same bead twice and take longer to chant my rounds. I tried to pay attention to the syllables of the mantra without distraction. I chanted loudly enough to hear, but at a low whisper. I was not able to time the rounds with the stopwatch. My speed was slow but steady. From time to time, I glanced at Radha-Govinda and tried to feel Their special presence. My chanting was mostly mechanical, with no deep, appreciative feelings about the holy name. I was satisfied, however, with the accumulation of the rounds within the hour. My head remained clear. The best part of the session was that I got it done within the allotted time. The worst part was that it was not a calling out to Krishna.

Japa essay

Oh, the world’s a fine place. Grab a little chaos on a couch. Eat what you can and enjoy your woman. It’s a good place if you’re a rich human being; in that species, you can go farthest to hell. And after that, you’re reduced to misery as a sheep in the rain who awaits his slaughter. Or if you’re lucky, in human life you can turn it all around and become Krishna conscious. But that takes work. You have to be willing to perform tapo-divyam. There is no other way; nasty eva nasty eva in Kali. Just chant, harer nama harer nama eva kevalam.

Handicapped and moving the beads,

my shoulder is still a pain.

My chanting was mechanical,

but it is the best mechanics’ work.

I don’t feel self-pity, I push on,

like a coal miner

doing his dirty work.

I hope in a few weeks

my fingering will clear up

and my mind will concentrate

on nama instead of shoulder.

From Forgetting the Audience (1993): “I thought about the few meaningful relationships I have with Godbrothers. Even those whose examples and friendship are important to me are rarely in the same place as I am. If we happen to cross paths, that’s all right, but I don’t make special attempts to meet them, phone them, or write them. I’m not on any managerial committees, so I don’t get to meet with brothers in a working relationship. This is what I want. I hate such committees, and I hope I’m done with them for good.

“As I write, I see two fishing boats close to each other, both splashing through the water, foam breaking off their bows. It’s a brisk day.

“My relationships are with disciples—that has its rewards and also its dangers. Disciples make for intimate friends. They will share with you whatever you want. They will trust you, for example, in your writing attempts (although some of them are confused by it and would prefer I write only straight sastric commentaries like Mukunda-mala- stotra). But if your only friends are disciples, there’s the danger of not getting critical feedback, which could help you form an objective viewpoint of your own activities. This is obvious and has subtle ramifications I won’t go into right now. I mean the lacking isn’t easily rectified. I take the position that it is good for me to go on my own. I have been excessively impressionable, and most of my Godbrothers tend to be conservative about what constitutes duty. I feel this has stunted me in some ways, and has also led me to lose my own conscience and integrity. Thus I went along with whatever the GBC and ISKCON acaryas decided and wound up as a leader in the mistakes of the nine-year period following Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance.

“Also, I do receive critical feedback. It comes unsolicited, and sometimes savagely, in letters or newsletters. I don’t exist in an ivory tower where I never hear any opinion but my own.”

8:24 A.M.

“Jumpin’ Punkins.” Cecil Taylor playing a song by Mercer and Ellington. What does it mean? Pumpkins on farms, big ones, jumping up out of the ground? Those pumpkins are wonderful. The soprano sax is played eccentrically, not regular. The devotees are jumpin’ in sankirtana, like this melody. Joyful. This is jazz. There’s a trumpet, too, and all the pumpkins are jumping. The pumpkins are devotees in the sankirtana hall, and they’re celebrating harinama. It’s mellow and happy. It’s for free and has perky rhythms. Here comes Cecil Taylor. The pianist plays in his own way. This is a group effort, and it’s got a melancholic air, too. All those pumpkins, rows and rows of them, growing in the garden. All those devotees dancing in the hall. It’s got an old-fashioned air because it’s written by Duke Ellington, and so we go back to old times.

“OP” What does it mean, “OP”? Oh Prahlada? Old times in the Puranas? Old times before I was a devotee? Please, don’t bring up my past. Oh please, give me Krishna’s mercy, Krishna’s prasada. Oh please, I’m not a good patient. Baladeva just told me I’m not a good patient. I keep moving my right arm. It’s going to make the pain last longer. Oh pain, Oh Cecil Taylor, plays avant-garde, trinkles down the higher notes and then comes back to pound the lower ones. He jumps from left to right. He was uncompromising. He played when there was no money. He played his own way. Ocular Perimeters. Obermeyer Pancakes. Over-the-Rainbow People. What is the mystery of “OP”? Maybe it’s the initials of his girlfriend, Ophelia Parkland. Oh please don’t be frivolous. Give us some Krishna consciousness in this song. Please be polite. Oh Polite. Ohhhh, peace. Oh peace. It’s a nice song with Cecil Taylor’s planking and plunking and plocking. It could have any title in the world, and it would be the same. Cecil Taylor is a unique pianist. He played his own way. People couldn’t figure him out, but he played on, and finally they came around. Oh people, learn the truth. Open pantries. Old-time pancakes. Officer Pediford. The bassist plays a nice melody, one polite, one pounding, good beat.

“I Forgot.” This is a tune written by Cecil Taylor. It starts off very far-out and moody and slow. Two lost horns, like playing in a fog. Cecil Taylor is playing in the background something of his own. How nice to be your own man and offer it to Krishna. It’s exciting. It’s creative. What did he forget? He forgot to be a good boy. He forgot the notes that were written down. He purposely forgot. I forgot to chant my rounds as best I could, I settled for less. I forgot to obey Prabhupada and defied him. I forgot how bad it would hurt. I forgot not to take the chance. They say it’s good to take chances, but I forgot you shouldn’t risk. I forgot my Lord, even for an instant, so what good am I? I forgot that I was raised a Catholic, but that’s all right now, I’m a Krishna conscious man. I didn’t forget to answer your letter. I forgot to be afraid of the ISKCON authorities. I’m doing what I can, so they should accept it. I’m not going to be in anxiety about it. I’m going to forget my fears. I won’t forget Prabhupada. I won’t forget the people. I won’t forget to write my journal.

“Things Ain’t What They Used To Be.” This is a song written by Duke Ellington. We used to be young and get together for parties and festivities. We used to laugh and sing. Boy, did we laugh! And we danced! We danced back and forth the whole length of the hall, wild. We gave a lecture. We packed it full of Sanskrit verses. People applauded after the lecture and complimented us. We were attractive. We thought we would take over the world. We were one union. Prabhupada was the pure devotee living on the earth, so nothing could go wrong. Things ain’t what they used to be. He’s gone now. A lot of devotees have passed away. In America, the temples are deserted. At least they’re deserted of Americans. Only Indian immigrants come to the Sunday feast. Hippies aren’t our best customers. It’s not like it used to be. But we’ve still got Krishna. We’ve still got the mahamantra. Lots of Russian devotees. Lots of Indian devotees. Creative things. The Internet is going wild. Seminars on japa. Bhaktivedanta College. But Duke says things ain’t what they used to be. They’re not as lively. They’re just not as young. At least not for the old timers. The young ones can say it’s better than it was, but for the old-timers, things ain’t what they used to be. They’ve got too many diseases and problems. They’re aware that time is running out, and they don’t have that old optimism that they’ll be pure devotees tomorrow. Oh well, Krishna’s still Krishna, Radha’s still Radha. We’ve got nothing to lament. Things are the same, we just have to look at it in the right way. It’s all a matter of consciousness.

11:30 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

My relationship with You has many aspects. Some aspects are sadness and indifference. It is sad that I do not love You more, and You do not reveal Yourself to me. It’s sad that I do not have the desire to work harder for the sankirtana movement to spread Krishna consciousness. It is sad that I do not love and mix more with Your devotees. And there is a general indifference. I do not care for You one way or another. I occupy myself with other things. Just today in Brhad Bhagavatamrta, we read the definition of tapa not as austerity but as concentration. Concentration on the beloved. That makes more sense than austerity, because when Lord Brahma meditated on You after hearing the syllables ta pa, he concentrated on You in deep meditation. The important thing was not physical inconvenience but concentration. My relationship with You is not concentrated. There’s an aspect of indifference to it, a lack of burning desire to attain You. Nowadays I am more concenred with my broken collarbone than with You. Another aspect is my lack of enthusiasm (utsaha) in the execution of my sadhana. I chant with regulation, and I hear about Your activities and instructions, but not with great enthusiasm.

Of course, there are positive aspects to my relationship with You. And in my petitional prayers to You, I ask that these be increased. I just said that I do not have enthusiasm in my sadhana, and yet I also do have a modicum of utsaha in pursuing You. There’s nothing I do with more attention than my prayers to You and my chanting of Hare Krishna. They may not be with great enthusiasm, but they are my highest priority.

My relationship with You is the most important thing in my life. The other thing I love to do, such as writing, is dovetailed with my desire to have a relationship with You. I would not write unless it could be used in Your service. I want to be creative, but I want to be Krishna consciously creative. My relationship with You is the deepest thing in my life. Other things are superficial, and I know them to be so. My relationship with You is not always on the surface, is not always sensationally present, but it is the bedrock of my life. My lackings in relationship to You are my sadness, and my positive attraction to You is my happiness. Everything revolves around You for me.

I do not know You very well, but what I know is the most important thing to me. I am not strongly attracted to Your holy dhamas in India, but I try to think of them while I am away from them. I try to live in Vrndavana consciousness.

As is stated in the Catholic act of Contrition, “I fear the loss of heaven and the pains of hell.” My destination in the next life is of the most importance to me. I want it to be closer to You. It’s most important to me that I continue devotional service to You. I know that life without Krishna is hellish. I once wrote that in an essay which was published in a Boston magazine, and Prabhupada wrote me a letter complimenting on the expression. I truly mean it. Life without You is hellish. So when I think of the end of my life and the beginning of my next life, it is of utmost importance that I make a good transfer. It is beyond my hope to go to You in this one lifetime (although I maintain a hope against hope), but I aspire for devotional service, birth after birth. To be born without connection to You is hell. I want to be a devotee of Yours, or at least a devotee of a devotee of Yours. I treasure my relationship with Srila Prabhupada, even though it may have waned from its highest point. I want to admit that. I want to be strong. It’s natural that I loved Prabhupada when he was here, and I saw him often, and he was like a friend. And it’s natural that I suffer in separation. His relationship with me is still the most important personal one. He is the most important person to me, aside from You. He saved me from a life without Krishna consciousness and has therefore given me the greatest gift. In my small way, I’m trying to repay him. My life is guru daksina. I just heard that a horse that was a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby will not be running because he hurt his foot. My life is something like that. I was favored, but due to “spiritual injuries,” I may not be able to run to victory in this lifetime. My spiritual injuries are Vaisnava aparadhas. They are very damaging to the devotional creeper, and one cannot cure oneself of them easily. So my relationship with You has an aspect of regret.

I pray that all the negative aspects of my relationship with You may somehow be overcome. I know this is possible because You are very compassionate. And it is possible because of my connection with Your pure devotee, Srila Prabhupada, who may speak up for me at the time of my judgment. My relationship with You is complex, but I wish it could be simple. Simply love. Simply wonderful. Please help me in my horizontal and vertical relationships with You so that I can simplify my bond to one like a little child for his parent. Let me simply love You and put all my trust in You. May You please take care of me as one who is totally dependent on You.

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #55→

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 28 April 2009 at Towaca, USA.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.31 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 28 April 2009 at Towaca, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.31 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

Here's a few shots of my sons taken on last weekend's teaching trip to Perth.

That's Nitai aged 12 and Caitanya aged 23.

Nitai wagered me that I couldn't grow a beard (perhaps he thought I was like a 'Mexican Hairless' or something), so I proved him wrong.

Auditioning for the "The Itchy and Scratchy Show".

The whole world is out there waiting to be inundated by the sublime mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's nama sankirtana movement. People are beginning to wake up more and more and realize that the old stereotypical answers to questions regarding reality, the universe, our purpose of existence, etc. are not sufficient any more because they do not satisfy...

Over the Pacific, USA

It’s hard to part and leave a spiritual community after bonding with members over a few short days. Like all places, whether tropical like Hawaii or facing the frigid elements like Canada half of the year there is something that is constant regardless of the place. After exchanging hugs with god brother, Suresvara, I would put a finger on that something. It’s the ambient flavour that Krishna delivers in all His homes. And as I walked a final trek on this Hawaiian trip along one of those world-class beaches while Surya, the sungod, peaked over the glimmering liquid line, it was Krishna’s flavour in the form of sound that provided the Bhakti touch.

At the Houston airport one employee I had approached for inquiry mistook my question for saying something about the Midas touch. The Midas touch refers to a repair company that offers excellent services for your car. I actually didn’t say anything about the Midas touch as she, the employee, was perhaps thrown off because of my non-existent southern droll. She did blush a bit when the question was repeated.

The mistake, however, triggered a thought about the Bhakti Touch. Wherever I travel I get the experience of the Bhakti Touch. To describe it, well, it’s warm. It conjures up the experience of sound referred to earlier, the food we call prasadam, the sound of bells and drums, the smell of champaka flower incense, images of flowing robes, a euphoric guru, books of ancient message and people of devotion who smile, hug and touch the heart.

The Bhakti Touch has nothing to do with anything mushy. It’s for real and it’s not mundane.

4 Km

Beauty and Blood

Honolulu, Hawaii

Mark Twain called it the most beautiful place in the world. Ramananda, the local temple co-ordinator, and I walked to a cliff in Nanaii State Park situated next to Old Pali Road over looking the oceanside beyond green valleys. It was red volcanic rock sprinkled one time by more red.

The top and the base of the cliff were blood stained when at the turn of the eighteenth century warring tribes muscled for power and sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands. Spears, muskets and more formidable canons caused the defeated tribe to take a forced leap off the cliff. Warriors in the hundreds were laid to rest after the fatal jump. The history made at this cliff flavoured this destination with colour tainting the beauty of the place.

We learned that red was a favourite colour in those times and a symbol of monarchy expressed through attire. Coats for the royalty were made from feathers plucked from live trapped birds which were then released. A tourist interpreter also informed a group of tourists while we browsed that brothers and sisters would marry and any children born deformed would be eliminated.

History has so many shades.

Meanwhile, our own little devotional group at the Iskcon Temple made preparations to present “The Gita” drama preceded by talks about walks. I am referring in particular to the cross Canada ventures. The chanting session was an electrifying experience before the sacred images of Panca Tattva, an angelic looking group of divinity who epitomized ‘perfect balance’ just by their mere symmetrical setting. The super feast topped off the Sunday open house program attended by an ecstatic group of happy faces. With all of this, our modest devotional community added a small something to Hawaiian history.

7 Km

Habits Hold On

Waikiki Beach, Hawaii

The public at Waikiki are accustomed to the chanting party coming through on the streets. At least shop owners are. The tourists turn over constantly and they are from all over the world.

With some seniority on my side, I tried to implement some standard of orderliness to the party of chanters, which seemed to have some positive effect.

My preference as a venue would be to a quieter park area where you might find more sober humans and hence more thoughtfulness.

Of course, people have slipped into bad habits. Perhaps you have heard it- a habit is like a cozy warm bed, easy to move into but hard to get out of.

Here’s another one. Habits are like a thread. You keep adding and they turn into a rope.

How about this one. Habits start by being too weak to be ‘felt’ and then end up being too strong to be ‘left.”

Whether booze or drugs they consume a person and then spit him or her out.

Here’s a last one. Before you realize that you have got the habit, the habit has got you.

Our guru, Srila Prabhupada, most empathically encouraged abstinence and to explore a pleasure within. Encounter a higher (spiritual) taste and all else appears so secondary.

Hawaii is an interesting place. It harbours natural beauty parallel to high end habits of humans. I see lots of spiritual facilities in Honolulu. Waikiki on the weekend at dusk isn’t much of a place for a monk.

7 Km

Kings and Chameleons

Honolulu, Hawaii

It’s my first trip to this chain of islands and I’m enjoying nature’s ventilation like anything. I am housed in a small cabin beneath a massive banyan tree situated in the backyard of the Iskcon House. Krsna Prema, my host, treated me to the staple food for the Hawaiian Islands, taro, a root crop given the Indian touch as a pakora with chickpea batter. A second treat was a ride to Old Pali Highway, an overgrown road- turned - trail at a marvelous panoramic lookout for ocean and mountain vistas.

A local chap discovered chameleon mates, a horned male which was carried on his hat, and female rested on top of his index finger on this scenic trail. The lizards who were very docile, donned the most beautiful green blends I have ever seen. The chap was not intent on taking them on as pets. “they are high maintenance,” he remarked. He was just taking them for a ride before releasing them back to their habitat.

A memorable moment to capture my mind about today was not just the outdoors but the book “Bhagavatam” discussed indoors. It was the story of a king, Citraketu, who lost his only son to the heinous act of poison. So our discussion with peers led to losing loved ones. I contemplate the loss of good souls in my life, personalities such as Bhakti Tirtha and Sridhar Swamis who passed away while in their fifties. What they did was leave good memories. There has to be something positive to relish and to dwell on that is stored in our memory banks. The past is not all bad. Some inspiration does come from probing into the past. When I think of the contribution our guru made for me personally, I get emotional.

The only thing to be in anxiety about when looking in reverse is when we wallow in the excess sense pleasures of our bygone times. We may be temped to visit our darker past.

5 Km

A Real Teacher is Always a Student

Over Choclate mountains USA

A man off to a diving exploration via air travel identified himself as Mark and with a smile asked if he could sit next to me. He is a teacher at a university in the engineering field. While waiting for our flight I asked him how he found his year of teaching.

“Pretty flat,” he said, referring to very quiet students. “Not every entertaining.” Although he measured this year’s student crop as ‘reserved’ he admitted to them “we are here to learn from each other.” I found it rather unique for a teacher to say that. Perhaps I was quite programmed under the old British school system in my childhood and had the exposure to authoritarian rule for the most part.

There were those teachers that you could get very close to and they would share their world with you. They would be “one of the boys” practically. I recall one of my teachers, who would play football with us outside of school hours and tell us how much he liked the Mamas and the Papas as much as we liked them. He was cool and we learned from him while at the same time we (his students) met with the usual formal protocol.

My new made friend, Mark, a professor seemed to exude that kind of vibration of warmth and humility and command a respect simultaneously. It is like the mountains I look at below me during the flight. They look beautiful with their peaks and valleys. It’s a great texture.

Someone can be a top executive, top in his field, be a king or a queen or a guru but if you can't be a little human, can’t share or express some friendship you can be as flat as a prairie.

Mark admitted that his students although a little non- responsive, were people he respected and loved. He struck me as being a real teacher and not just a cash earner who passed some exams some years back. I spoke to him of dharma and karma and of after-life. He was thoroughly interested which is one of my main points. He was a teacher who is still a student. Once you give up inquisitiveness you are a dead man.
Happy diving, Mark!

4 Km

Monks Supporting Each Other

Toronto, Ontario

Some Montreal monks have come to check out our Toronto ashram, test out their new van and come to see visitor Devamrta Swami. Our visitors, Anubhava, Jagannatha and Veda Vyasa accompany me on my favourite monk trails. First of all, there was a promenade to Casa Loma, a palatial castle stop on a hill, as we softly chanted with the aid of our meditational beads. That was at the crack of dawn. By mid-afternoon, the boys were set for some real grassroots Hare Krishna activity teaming up with three monks form Halifax drumming on mrdanga and djembe drums while singing the maha mantra at popular Kensington Market. Shoppers and shopkeepers took well to the monks having fun doing what people often expect of us.

I had also introduced the boys to a Rosedale ravine, a real treat- a trail that takes you in the midst of nature within the centre of the bustling city. There was also time taken to address issues with Anubhava, the Montreal temples co-coordinator, to discuss individual concerns of discontent. As much as you find there are triumphs on the spiritual path, you find challenges.

One time a person asked me abut troubles in spiritual communities. I responded with a candid “wherever there are humans there will be human nature that leads us to complications.”

In the sacred Gita, Krishna speaks about this mundane world as a troubled place of misery and struggle.

There is always fewer struggles in the company of supportive peers who
tread the spiritual path

4 Km

The Loose and the Stiff

Toronto, Ontario

Devamrta Swami asked me over breakfast how I felt the world is doing. What immediately came to mind was that the sandwiches we were eating were great. Naturally, he anticipated that I push beyond the horizon of the condominium corner where we were seated. So I tried to say something.
“The liberals and conservatives are constantly in an arm wrestle.”
“Dialogue is always a welcome sign. If the arms are held together holding equal power I see a balance. The arms need a chance to rest though. We can’t always be arguing. My dear swami friend nodded. I did not reciprocated with the same question. We just moved into different directions in our conversation.

When I thought about the arm-wrestle after the quick breakfast and a quick tooth brushing session before the dentist would spot and pick at food particles at my appointment, I really had in mind that amongst spiritualists there are the free spirited and the tight wads. It seems to go across the board whether secular or religious, that you will find loose and stiff opinions, on matters of all sorts and kinds.

Devamrta held his own charm as usual in our brief communication. “A passive warrior “is the title I would give him. He has a day off from speaking engagements but is poised to prepare and speak to a group of people in the corporate community the next day. He gloriously breaks ground with the stretchy yoga community and now with the stiffer ‘white collar” groups. He can very expertly raise the consciousness of people from the two extreme backgrounds.

5 Km

Assess/Rate

Toronto, Ontario

We all get rated for what we do. The moon and sun observe us. Stars and other luminary objects watch us. Crows in trees and squirrels as well keep a watchfulness over our movements. People too. We get judged by them.
The newspaper media in Canada is looking at Barack Obama, U.S. President, and giving him a rating after one hundred days in office. They gave him a score B. It’s an opinion of course based on right or left wing subjectivity. The President is accountable to his citizens and not just Canadians but most certainly, the U.S. and the world all over make assessment on his work. Then there is ME. “I” need to be assessed. Perhaps the worst opinion makers on our own selves is our selves. We do need assessment for our own performance level if we hope to improve and impact the world favorably.

We need to know “How am I as a citizen of the earth? How do I fare with peers? Am I a good husband, wife, parent, peer, student, teacher, employer and employee? “We need to know more than just what we project about ourselves.

I know that I must chum with my peers, fellow monks, for instance, to wish or hope for messages from them to offer some advice even a small hint. I must ask, “How was I (on the speech delivery for instance) or what do you think about…? I know I don’t do enough of this type of probing with peers.

It’s unhealthy to take an Absolutist stance on things and to carry Holier Than Thou attitude. Conversely, asking everyone’s opinion for everything or asking for permission to cough or sneeze is an unwholesome extreme. That would lay a case for paralysis.

Today the weather was extreme. Rain poured. Wind whipped. My passion to walk was extreme for a solution I chose to walk the underground shopping concourse. I didn’t have to fight the extreme elements. I just came to a compromise (even though I love the out-of-doors)
Always shoot for a balance. Assess but, beware, not to over-assess. Who has the time? Life is short!

5 Km

If people are simply induced to chant Hare Krsna mantra... Just see. Even a child, he is taking part. It is natural. There is no distinction between black and white, no question of language, nothing. You see practically. There is white child, black child. They do not know how to speak, but they are dancing and chanting. So this movement is so important. Somehow or other if you can engage them in chanting and dancing, the whole world will be united. What the United Nations has failed, this movement can do -- if it is not checked by the rascals.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 3.26.18 -- Bombay, December 27, 1974

Parasurama das: Ganga Prabhu left his body Friday 24 April 2009, in Belfast hospital surrounded by chanting devotees. Ganga joined the Dublin temple in 1983.

Candana Yatra starts on Akshaya Tritiya, the third lunar day of the waxing moon of Vaisakha month and continues for twenty days. Lord Jagannatha gave direct instructions to King Indradyumna to perform this festival at this time. Smearing the body of the Lord with ointments is an act of devotion, and the best of ointments is sandalwood paste. Since the month of Vaisakha is very hot in India, the cooling effect of the sandalwood is very pleasing to the body of the Lord. Source:http://www.salagram.net/parishad67.htm

Bhajan sung by Amala Kirtan during the Gaura Purnima festival.

Dallas, TX
2009-03-10

Download: 2009-03-10 - Gaura Purnima - 3 - Amala Kirtan das - Bhajan.mp3

April 28 2009

This is just in from Daria prabhu, who has just taken up the service of being my new translator on Krishna.ru

“My son Ganesha das and I have met with you in Mayapur last year in November, you even wrote  my son’s name “Ganesha prabhu” in the book “Diary” that you wrote and published. My son is 11 years old and you wrote him “prabhu” - it was first time in his life

Answer:

“Certainly he is our prabhu. These great souls are the future hope of the Krsna consciousness movement, and the fact that they have been given the opportunity to take up Krsna consciousness right from the very beginning of their lives is an indication that they were advanced devotees in their last lives. So they may well be far more advanced than we are and are thus worthy of being addressed as prabhu.”

October 28 1976 - Vrindavana

[TD5-SB class]

Prabhupada’s attempt to provide the best possible opportunity to those pious souls who have been given the connection to Krsna through birth is displayed in his ongoing concern for the development of the gurukula. Surveying the young boys sitting attentively before him, he explained: “[They are] ringing the karatalas, chanting, dancing, offering obeisances to the Lord–temple atmosphere. Don’t think it is ordinary opportunity. It is very great opportunity. From the very beginning of life they are getting impression, bhakti yoga. Vasudeve bhagavati bhakti yoga. These are not going in vain. Even a child is playing karatala, imitation. Not imitation. He’s given the chance. He was previously Vaisnava. Somehow or other, he could not make his life perfect. Therefore he is given again chance. So naturally he has got tendency to play the karatala, to offer flower here, to offer obeisances. They take pleasure. It is due to previous life, yoga. But it was not perfectly done, so somehow or other they are getting chance from the very beginning of life.”

OK, I digress. Here’s the actual question:
Daria: I consider it an honour to try and translate your answers and questions of our people to you.

Here is the first question. It’s from Seva (male).

“Usually the sense of love and thankfulness rises within me towards people who give from their heart freely. For example if I see some devotees who sacrifices their own wishes to Krishna or to other beings, I feel sympathy for these devotees and I really wish to give something good to them. How can I love Krishna if all He is doing is always taking pleasure and nothing more?”

Answer:

I think Seva prabhu has yet to understand the real nature of love. It is apparent that he is setting conditions on the activities of those he wants to give his love to, and if those persons do not meet his personal requirements or standards, he does not feel inclined to love them. This is not love, this is Seva prabhu’s sense gratification. He wants everyone to be subordinate to his so-called love.

As far as Krsna goes, what can we say about the statement “How can I love Krishna if all He is doing is always taking pleasure and nothing more?” Does Seva prabhu seriously think this is all Krsna is doing?

Krsna’s position is perfectly described in Bhagavad Gita Bg 5.29:

bhoktaram yajna-tapasam
sarva-loka-mahesvaram
suhrdam sarva-bhutanam
jnatva mam santim rcchati

TRANSLATION
“A person in full consciousness of Me, knowing Me to be the ultimate beneficiary of all sacrifices and austerities, the Supreme Lord of all planets and demigods, and the benefactor and well-wisher of all living entities, attains peace from the pangs of material miseries.”

Krsna is described as the bhokta, the ultimate enjoyer. Why? Because He alone is the source of all the lokas, or planets and universes. He pervades the creation in his form as Supersoul, supplying all the necessities of life to every living being (not just humans). He provides the air we breathe, the water we drink, the earth we eat in the form of foodstuffs, the rainfall, the sunshine and every other aspect of our lives. The entire creation is simply a transformation of Krsna’s energies. Krsna is quite literally everything.

Everything and everyone is subordinate to Krsna’s will. He is second to none, the creator, maintainer and destroyer of all things, and He is the master of time. We are simply insignificant, infinitesimal particles of His existence. Without Krsna, we do not exist.

Even in ordinary logic we see that one who owns something, controls it. If you don’t own something, how can you control it? And one who controls something, has the right to enjoy it. If you don’t own something, and if you have no control over it, how can you enjoy it?

(more…)

The devotees at Krsna Village (New Vraja Dham) in Hungary are glorified again for their positive, transcendent example, in a report on the clear link between the habit of meat consumption and the negative effects of climate change.

Read all about it here.

Better quality, better quantity, that’s my private prayer-mantra. Today I feel patient with myself, assuring it will come. Adding times when I chant. But I rarely chant except with the beads in hand, counting it as my quota. I have a tape of Srila Prabhupada holding kîrtana at Dr. Mishra’s asrama. When I play that, I sing along, and I continue singing when it stops.

Not eating too much, but I have a hearty appetite for what Baladeva gives me (as he lovingly cooks it). The walk at the beach is devoted to japa.

From Bhajana Kutir #53

I get a lot of amazing e-mails from a devotee in South Africa, Mother Cheron. Sometimes I don't have the time to read them, and many of them remain unopened, or half read, as I go off to study or chant my rounds or cook etc. But the heading of this e-mail 'Attract Krsna's mercy!!!" really got my attention, and not just because of the three exclamation points (although that certainly contributed!) After all, isn't that one of our important goals in Krsna Consciousness, to attract Krsna's attention and mercy? I have heard Bhakti Caitanya Swami say several times in class that when we go before the deities, it is not so that we can see Krsna, it is so that Krsna can see us, and see what we have done to increase our love and devotion for Him. In this excerpt from Kadamba Kanana Swami's class, he tells us how we can attract Krsna's mercy, and when we next stand before Krsna and Srimati Radharani, maybe Krsna will take special notice of us because we have made an extra endeavour to do things with more love and devotion.

Here are some experiments I've been doing with MIDI drums.

This is a Roland TD-04 MIDI drum kit [demo on youtube] controlling an old school Yamaha QY-70 sequencer (pictured above) that I've had kicking around for a couple of years.

I recorded three tracks - the first is a rhythmic/melodic part using a Thai Bell patch. That was fun, and relative easy because it was all arms, not this whole "four limbs doing wildly different things" that I'm currently struggling with. The second is a drum track using a Rock Kit patch. The third is a single snare roll overdub using a Analog Kit patch.

The tracks were recorded at 115 bpm, and you can hear that my live performance is so many kinds of suck - give me a break though, I've only been playing three weeks. The spirit is willing, but thus far the body is completely un-co, as in "unco-operative" and "unco-ordinated".

Here's the track:

Original Track (.wma, 2.8MB)

[Apologies for the wma, but that's the format that my iRiver E100 encodes in, and I don't have a machine handy to transcode to mp3 or ogg right now. Leave a comment if you want to listen to it but don't have enough evil installed on your machine to play it.]

Fixing it in the mix - the miracle of MIDI

Now, if that had been an analog performance on a real kit, captured as sound, rather than captured as digital performance data, there would be nothing that could be done to make that better except to keep practicing for the next two years (which I'll do anyway...)

However, with MIDI, we can do a few things.

Here's what I did:

• Quantize the drum track to eighth notes
• Switch the kit from Rock to Jungle (yeah boyee!)
• Copy the last measures before it all falls apart and turn them into a loop, copying that over the crash and burn

Quantizing magically makes your out-of-time performance "on the one". Or in my case, "mostly on the one accompanied by a few real funky fills that sound awesome, but are actually me playing so far off the one that the computer can't tell one from three and a half".

Here's the remixed track, after about 5 minutes of digital magic:

MIDI Magic! Track (.wma, 2.8MB)

More MIDI options

The other thing I could have done (and which I only thought of later), is to simply reduce the bpm of the "melody" track from 115bpm to something that I'm more comfortable playing at (like 50-60bpm right now), record the drum track performance at that speed, then speed it up again - kind of like Dragonforce do (they do not!).

If you capture live performances (vocals, harmonium, tabla, mrdanga) using a click track or sampled drum beat for timing, then you can add MIDI instrument performances such as this, and use quantize to "fix it in the mix".

You can even record those parts at a slower bpm, then just crank up the tempo when you add them with the live tracks.

Got any more ideas or experience with MIDI? Let me know.

Rock on!

Often people ask devotees about the saffron color. What is its significance? Why that color? The reply is often that it is the traditional color of (eastern) renunciation. Both Hindu and Buddhist monks wear it. But is there more? What is said about saffron?

read more

Even though one is in the renounced order, one who is advanced certainly feels compassion for suffering living entities. One should certainly neglect his own personal interests, although they may be very important, to protect one who has surrendered.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 8 Verse 10

Kirtan w/ Kripamoya pr, Sacinandana & Kadamba K. Swamis. Ecstatic kirtan in Simhachalam, Germany, on May 15th 2008 at the beginning of the Nrsimha Caturdasi Festival after Gaura arati with Kripamoya prabhu, Sacinandana Maharaj and Kadamba Kanana Maharaj

Whoa! It's been way too long since I blogged. Remember those good ol' obsessive/compulsive days when I published at least once every twenty-four hours? Life is a bit too busy lately to stick to that intense writing schedule, though I do plan to get back to that happy place some day soon.

What's new in my world? I spent a great weekend back in Perth teaching two back-to-back cookery classes. The photo report will be coming to a computer screen near you soon.

Oh, and this morning I received a nice letter from a happy client who has published fond memories of our class together on her new blog:

Meet The Happy Dacks.

1966 April 28:
"Navami. Today I brought all things from 72nd Street to Paul's loft.
Expenses Paul paid $1.00. Sun Rise 5/05. Sunset 6/51. Moonset 1/52."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 April 28: "I shall arrive in Columbus on flight 485, United Airlines, at 10:47 on May 9, 1969. I am pleased to learn of your nice Krishna Conscious activities in Columbus, and I shall be happy to see you there soon."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 April 28: "You must occupy that house. If George Harrison's letter of guarantee is not sufficient, then I am also prepared to guarantee. Let them know that we are not paupers."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 April 28: "Let them follow Lord Jesus Christ. If one is not prepared to advance more, it is better to avoid. If one is limited by some formulas only, he is bound by a chain. So we are concerned only with persons who are not chained by anything."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 April 28: "This early rising, holding classes, going out regularly for sankirtana, worshiping the deity are the very substance of devotional life. By your sincere devotional example you will attract more and more sincere boys and girls to Krsna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 28: "The regulative principles are designed to take us gradually. Those who think they have already attained perfection are called sahajiya, or those who take things cheaply and simply imitate."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1970 April 28: "Let them follow Lord Jesus Christ. If one is not prepared to advance more, it is better to avoid. If one is limited by some formulas only, he is bound by a chain. So we are concerned only with persons who are not chained by anything."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 April 28: "This early rising, holding classes, going out regularly for sankirtana, worshiping the deity are the very substance of devotional life. By your sincere devotional example you will attract more and more sincere boys and girls to Krsna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 28: "The regulative principles are designed to take us gradually. Those who think they have already attained perfection are called sahajiya, or those who take things cheaply and simply imitate."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1969 April 28: "You must occupy that house. If George Harrison's letter of guarantee is not sufficient, then I am also prepared to guarantee. Let them know that we are not paupers."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 April 28: "I shall arrive in Columbus on flight 485, United Airlines, at 10:47 on May 9, 1969. I am pleased to learn of your nice Krishna Conscious activities in Columbus, and I shall be happy to see you there soon."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1966 April 28:
"Navami. Today I brought all things from 72nd Street to Paul's loft.
Expenses Paul paid $1.00. Sun Rise 5/05. Sunset 6/51. Moonset 1/52."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

http://srimadbhagavatam.com/1/1/17/en

Here is the recording of 28 April 2009 satsanga.

Please click below links….

download (Downloads 4)

Servant of Servants.

The Vedic civilization flourished on this planet for 3,888,000 years. This is the time span from the beginning of the Satya yuga up until the end of the Dvapara yuga when the Kali yuga began 5,000 years ago. Especially since the beginning of the Kali yuga the human society has been becoming more and more godless. The result of such godlessness is ever-increasing...

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.2-3 - Become dependent on Krishna's plan.

April 27, 2:00 A.M.

The evening was fairly peaceful. I only woke up once, from a dream. I got up at 2;00 A.M. with a clear head. I called Baladeva on the walkie-talking to put my sling on and set up the Deities.

4:16 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

Because I got enough sleep, I was not drowsy. I was attentive to the syllables and the names, without distraction. I did not chant loud enough to hear. I did not keep track of the speed. I missed one round, I think. I enjoyed the presence of Radha-Govinda, glancing at Them as I chanted. I was wearing my sling, but it didn’t give me much relief. It was a foggy session. I took satisfaction in the accumulation of the rounds. Because of the pain in the shoulder, I took a medication. The best part of the session was that I was up early, so I got the eight rounds done on time. The weakest part of the session was that I was not sharply attentive or devotional.

Japa essay

Although the interior speaks of frustrations—facing myself as a drowsy chanter—the overall purpose is one that seems right and brings fulfillment. I only gradually attempt to become acquainted with the workings of the mind and to gain control over it in bhajana. One devotee who has done vratas of 108 rounds daily in retreat settings told me he discovered that “the mind is an organ.” He got to see that it works in the same way any other part of the body works. It can be pushed to perform, and it has certain limits and behaviors. Rather than think the mind is “you,” or be helpless to the mind’s dictation, we control it. Vaco vegam manasah krodha-vegam.

I want to be able to place the mind on hearing harinama and thinking favorably of Krishna during bhajana—and take the mind away from distractions.

Also I want to feel devotion. Or pray to Krishna to allow me to feel devotion, to feel remorse over my lack of devotion and my inability to purge out anarthas and aparadhas. This is the general work. I don’t have a vigorous program for it. Years ago, I read St. Ignatius Loyola’s retreat program. I don’t have some process like that—daily meditations upon one’s sins, turning to God or Christ. . . I have japa and writing. I’m moving more toward reflective statements about my life, where I am and where I’m going.

A groggy session is not so good,

your shoulder pain prevents a poem.

But early rising is a boon:

you know you’ll reach your quota.

I pray to Lord Krishna for alert

mahamantras, but they do not come.

I am saddened but ever hopeful.

From Forgetting the Audience (1993): “Keep writing. This is a japa retreat. Or more simply, a hearing retreat. You calm down and see where your emotions have led you. In the USA, I became alarmed at the difficulties Gîta-nagarî dhama is going through. Sometimes it’s presented because someone wants me to feel guilty for having left my GBC duties there—as if I should go back and help the fight for survival. But I won’t be swallowed up. I gave $3,000.00 to help bail them out, but I can’t stick my finger in the dike for that one project.

“And then the four or five attacks in the mail stating that I am a bogus offender, Srila Prabhupada-lilamrta is offensive, my writing is out to lunch, etc.

“I’m distancing myself from these issues. I realize I have to stay involved to some degree, but it’s good to be able to step out of them for awhile and see who I am aside from those pressures. Do I have an existence aside from the bouncing off of interrelations with friends, coworkers, and critics of ISKCON? Do I have my own opinions? Do I have a relationship with harinama aside from the one we all claim to have as followers? Do I have a relationship with Srîla Prabhupada? What is it now? Seeking integrity alone.”

6:30 A.M.

Drowsing at the beach. The sun is up, but in contrast to yesterday, not a single person is here. It’s Monday. I finished my japa quota. The beach and sea and sky are all calm on the eastern front. The sand is rippled with yesterday’s footprints. Only the seagulls are active. I wish I were more awake to take in the morning calm. Calm places for contemplating Krishna, not falling asleep.

9:11 A.M.

“Yet Nee’er Broken.” I’ve gone through a lot of troubles, but my heart’s not broken yet. I’m not broken. My collarbone’s broken. But I’m still alive and still kicking. That’s Krishna’s mercy. Yet nee’er broken. Well, what have you been through that’s been so difficult. Oh, a lot of things. Had my heels broken, had my head broken, had my heart broken, and innumerable headaches. But I am not broken. I’m an eternal spirit soul, and I can’t be cut or dried or wetted or sliced into pieces. I can’t be killed. As long as I stay near my spiritual master and Krishna, then I’ll be in one piece, and I won’t have to descend into the lower species. You always keep going. You’re not a loser. It may get worse—there may be financial troubles, psychic troubles, diseases—but I’m not broken yet. Survive through the end of this life, and then even after that. Those men on the battlefield, they always existed in the past, they exist now, and they’ll always exist in the future. That’s the second chapter of Bhagavad-gita. You’re never broken. So please be cheerful and don’t think you’re lost. They can’t harm you, or at least they can’t break you.

“Knit for Mary F.” I’m not sure what this means. I think of someone knitting, knitting for a baby. Or someone in old age passing their last times by knitting. There was a lady who was caught down in the rubble of a volcano for twelve hours. She spent her time knitting. It’s a favorite occupation for some ladies, and even men do it. You can knit an outfit for the Deity of Krishna. You can knit a scarf for your favorite devotee. It’s an art. It can be done with devotion and offered to Krishna. Knit a nice shawl for the Deity. Knit a sweater for your guru, even though it’s too big for him. It takes a lot of time, and it’s painstaking, but patient people like to do it. It’s a real act of devotion. It’s not like going out and buying something in the store. Sometimes people knit poorly, and it’s embarrassing. But an expert knitter can make an expert devotional offering. Bill Evans is playing the high notes as if he’s knitting, too. He’s playing it very patiently, knitting a piece of music. So knit a sweater for Mary for her birthday. Devotees exchange gifts. That’s one of their intimate devotional exchanges. Take the time and knit a sweater for Mary. Make it nice, and offer it to Krishna before you offer it to her.

“The Touch of Your Lips.” The gopis were envious of the flute. They said he was taking all the nectar from Krishna’s lips and leaving none for them. They said they were the rightful inheritors of that nectar because they knew Krishna from their birth, whereas the flute—a dry piece of bamboo—had become acquainted with Krishna only since his taking the cows into the fields. Nevertheless, Krishna gave the touch of His lips to His flute. He has several flutes, a venu, and a murali, and others, too. He puts the beautiful touch of His lips to the holes of His flute and fingers it, and out comes music that enchants the whole world. The parents of the flute—the trees and the ponds—are proud of their offspring. But the gopis remain piqued. They say it’s better to take birth as a flute than to take birth as a gopi. Evans is playing it fast, with lots of notes. It’s not a soft kiss. It sounds like Krishna’s fingers running up and down the flute. It’s certainly got a rapid touch. And the drum is kicking. The touch of His lips causes intoxication and craziness, madness and dancing. Here it’s caused a hard-driving jazz number.

“My Man’s Gone Now.” This is a song from Porgy and Bess. It’s sad that Porgy’s gone. Life is empty now. What is there to do when your man’s gone? This is how the gopis feel when Krishna departs for Mathura. A moment seems like a millennium. Radharani is so faint, Her sakhis have to lie Her down on a cool bed of flowers to keep Her alive, and they give Her assurances that Krishna is coming. She decides not to die because if Krishna comes back and sees that She’s gone, that would cause Him great pain. But otherwise, what’s the sense of living? Radha is meant for Krishna, and without Him, She is not whole. Krishna’s meant for Radha, too. So why are They apart? The universe is wrong. Providence is cruel. He should come back, and soon. And He shouldn’t just send a messenger, like Uddhava, or a philosophical message about jnana yoga. He should come back in person. The gopis have a right to be angry and brokenhearted, but Krishna is so attractive that they can’t forget Him or remain angry with Him. And as soon as He shows up again, they’re entranced by Him. But while He’s gone, it’s like burning in fire, and She can hardly endure it. “My man’s gone now,” Radha laments.

“Your Story.” You were born in Queens, New York City, and your first years were without your father, who was in World War II. At eight years of age, you moved to your own house in Great Kills, Staten Island, on the GI plan. A family of four—an older sister, Madeline; mom; and dad—in the 1950s. It was a nice neighborhood, without much violence. I had to wrestle once with George Kochmann before all the other boys, and I beat him. But that was the only fight. I fooled around in school. Mother and Father were our unquestioned authorities, and we did what they said. That’s until we grew up. In high school, we started getting rowdy. I didn’t get good marks. My father no longer seemed to be the greatest man, and then in college, in the first year, it all crashed. The generation gap appeared. My teachers were Marxists and atheists, and I lost my faith in the Catholic Church. Then I was introduced to marijuana and Brooklyn College and poetry and a girlfriend. Then I fell low—didn’t even have enough to eat—after the navy, the horrible navy. I won’t even mention it. (I don’t have to tell my whole story.) My story really begins on the Lower East Side, when I met the Swami and took to spiritual life at twenty-six years of age. And then it begins. And I won’t tell you now, but it’s been satisfactory ever since. despite some bumps on the road, I’m heading back to Godhead, one of these lifetimes. That’s my story. Bill Evans plays a somber background to it, and I hardly noticed what he said.

11:33 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I want to send a message to You. My message is to ask You for help. Please help me to love You. You are the most worthy person deserving my love. Somehow I am lagging and have not reached the higher stages of Krishna conscious love for You. This is because I am selfish and egotistical. I’m more concerned about myself than I am for You. Constitutionally, I am your servant, built to love You. So it is a great shame that I am lacking in that regard. I don’t even know You very well. I should make all effort to know You and love You in the remaining years of my life. You have not made it easy to get out of this material world. Once we come in here, there are chains that bind us. But the goal is to serve You for Your pleasure. You want to see us making an effort to render You loving service, and then You will reciprocate with us. Why can’t I do it more vigorously? You know I want to love You, and You want to help me. For many lifetimes, I have maintained a selfish attitude and tried to enjoy myself as the master rather than as the servant. In this lifetime, I have got the right understanding, by the grace of my spiritual master, Srila Prabhupada. But it is a struggle to overcome the mountain of dirt, the mountain of false ego. It is not wrong if I ask You to help me. I know of no alternative but to frankly ask for Your help. On my own, I do not seem to be able to surmount the difficulties—my own reluctance, my laziness, my selfishness. It gives me pain to see my condition, and I am struggling to get out of it. But it is like struggling to get out of a straightjacket, and I am no master escape artist like Houdini. I’m just a poor jiva soul who has the seeds of bhakti implanted in him and who has been waiting for them to grow for too long. I have done things to prevent my growth of love for You. I have committed offenses, Vaisnava aparadhas, and I am paying for that. I try to right myself, but I see that my progress is slow. I do not have much more time left in this life and don’t see how I can make the complete course to get my “Ph.D.” for going back to Godhead. In fact, I am slowing down.

Please give me a clue so I can get out of this entanglement and feel the blessedness of loving You. Let me increase my hearing about You and my chanting of Your holy names. Let me stop doing frivolous things and stop being a weakling. Give me strength and courage to fight. Because I have an old body does not mean I cannot be a warrior still in the battle against Maya, but I need Your help and Your special consideration. There is a prayer in the Isopanisad that says, “Please remember all that I have done for You, and let there be no hindrance in my progress.” I make that prayer to You now, in paraphrase. Please count the service I have done to Srila Prabhupada, and please do not count the aparadhas. Please give me faith in Your reality, and love for Your personhood. Let me be kinder toward Your devotees and stauncher in my own practice of sadhana. This prayer is made up of all petitions I know, and that may not be the best form of prayer. I should be praising You and accepting whatever You give me. That is true love. I do praise You for all Your wonderful pastimes and all Your wonderful deeds, which You did in Gokula when You came to this earth and which You are doing now in Goloka Vrndavana. But I cannot help but beg from You for advancement to the point where my love flourishes and I become happy in Krishna consciousness. I am Your servant, by the grace of my spiritual master, who has allowed me to render many acts in the sankirtana movement. Now I ask You for a little push in my remaining days so that I can retain some of that vigor I had in my youth when I was doing better. You are my Lord and master, and You will take my prayer however You wish, and I shall be satisfied with it.

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #54 →

People often come up to me and ask, "How do you feel now that you've finished your Masters?" I typically give the answer, "I'm SOOO happy! No more school." Which is often followed by a long pause and then, "Well, at least for now!"

But thinking about it, we never actually finish school. At least not if one is an aspiring spiritual seeker. We may think of school as a physical building with desks, computers, exams and stressed out students. While that maybe true, that misconception can lead us to forget that our sojourn through material existence is actually the true "SCHOOL" so to speak.

We are always in school, every moment of every day. The question is are we looking at every situation and circumstance as an opportunity to learn or, as it so happens so many times when we are physically in school, just try to get by without learning the true lesson.

This rings true for me. In school I would always get by, trying to cram at the last minute just so I could do well in the exam. See, the way schools here in the material world assess us are completely different than Krsna's way. There is no way to cram for the lessons Krsna is hoping we will learn and implement. It comes only by becoming conscious that we are having an exam at every moment. And what is that exam? The result is measured by our reaction. Is it Krsna conscious or is it self-centred?

I pray that I can develop this vision and get rid of my tendency to simply cram and hope for the best.

I am not worthy of any one of the words spoken by you but all of them are due to my Spiritual Master Who was so kind to me. In fact I am a worthless person because my Spiritual Master ordered me to take up this work in 1922 but I did not carry his order until 1958, when I was obliged to carry out His order by His arrangement only. This means although I was not very enthusiastic to carry out His order He forced me circumstantially to accept it. So this is His special mercy upon me and I always think about this with gratitude to this exalted personality coming directly from Vaikuntha World and we had the great fortune to meet Him. I think that is the only credit on our part that we happened to meet Him by some "ajnata-sukrti' or unknown auspicious activities. He is so kind upon me that when I came to your country, where I was completely unknown, He sent to me some good souls like you unsolicited. So I accept you all as assistants or representatives of my Guru Maharaja Who is still helping me because I am so feeble and unworthy. [letter to Hayagriva dasa, January 1, 1970]

The kindly words that you have used in this connection are very much pleasing, but all the credit goes to my Guru Maharaja. He asked me to take up this job as soon as I met Him in 1922; unfortunately I was so worthless that I delayed the matter until 1965, but He is so kind that by force He engaged me in His service; and because I am very much worthless, therefore He has sent me so many of His nice representatives-the beautiful American boys and girls like you. I am so much obliged to you that you are all helping me in the discharge of my duties towards my Spiritual Master, although I was so much reluctant to execute it. After all, we are the eternal servants of Krsna, and by the Divine Will of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura we are now combined together, although originally we are born in different parts of the world, unknown to one another. [letter to Candanacarya dasa, December 3, 1970]

I have no credit. It is all the blessings of guru and Vaisnava, that's all. I have no credit. I do not know how things are happening, because I am not at all bona fide position. But it is truly chadiya vaisnavaseva nistara payeche keba. [Room conversation, Vrndavana, January 2, 1977]

When the spiritual master gives the disciple his prescribed duty the disciple must embrace that duty accepting it as very his life and soul. By doing so, within the execution of that duty he will gradually fully realize God. The constant danger for the disciple is that the voracious senses are always there screaming that the disciple should abandon...

The following is a Sunday lecture given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 26 April 2009 at Towaca, USA.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

The following is a Sunday lecture given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 26 April 2009 at Towaca, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo;

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 27 April 2009 at Towaca, USA.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.30 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 27 April 2009 at Towaca, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.30 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

vadanti tat tattva-vidas
tattvam yaj jnanam advayam
brahmeti paramatmeti
bhagavan iti sabdyate

Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan.

The Absolute Truth is both subject and object, and there is no qualitative difference there. Therefore, Brahman, Paramatma and Bhagavan are qualitatively one and the same. The same substance is realized as impersonal Brahman by the students of the Upanishads, as localized Paramatma by the Hiranyagarbhas or the yogis, and as Bhagavan by the devotees. In other words, Bhagavan, or the Personality of Godhead, is the last word of the Absolute Truth. Paramatma is the partial representation of the Personality of Godhead, and impersonal Brahman is the glowing effulgence of the Personality of Godhead, as the sun rays are to the sun-god. Less intelligent students of either of the above schools sometimes argue in favor of their own respective realization, but those who are perfect seers of the Absolute Truth know well that the above three features of the one Absolute Truth are different perspective views seen from different angles of vision.

As it is explained in the first sloka of the First Chapter of the Bhagavatam, the Supreme Truth is self-sufficient, cognizant and free from the illusion of relativity. In the relative world the knower is different from the known, but in the Absolute Truth both the knower and the known are one and the same thing. In the relative world the knower is the living spirit or superior energy, whereas the known is inert matter or inferior energy. Therefore, there is a duality of inferior and superior energy, whereas in the absolute realm both the knower and the known are of the same superior energy. There are three kinds of energies of the supreme energetic. There is no difference between the energy and energetic, but there is a difference of quality of energies. The absolute realm and the living entities are of the same superior energy, but the material world is inferior energy. The living being in contact with the inferior energy is illusioned, thinking he belongs to the inferior energy. Therefore there is the sense of relativity in the material world. In the Absolute there is no such sense of difference between the knower and the known, and therefore everything there is absolute.

- Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.11

Great verse that.

Here's a Srimad Bhagavatam class I gave recently at the local temple, on the 10th canto - Brahma vimohan-lila - discussing these three aspects of the one Supreme Reality.

• Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan (mp3, 18MB)

When we think of the word "launch", perhaps the image of a space shuttle rumbling its way through the atmosphere as it carves a path to the stars comes to mind.  Necks crane upwards to watch rockets burst towards the heavens and all that is left is a trail of smoke cast across the sky.View Festival Picture Gallery Below:

By Vijaya das

For complete results and to send in your scores go to www.SankirtanNewsletter.com (password: wsnhome) Deadline for scores is the 15th of the next month.

Culled from a series of lectures by Srila Prabhupada on the subject of "Simple Living, High Thinking"

This material world is a field of activity for the persons who have forgotten Krsna, or their connection with the Divine. But there is practical spiritual knowledge, coming from the Vedas, the original spiritual culture, that we can use. If we act according to this Vedic knowledge, then we can actually enjoy life. Because in the material world, there is nothing enjoyable for the spirit soul.

Just like a fish, it is an animal of the water. It has nothing to enjoy on the land. So if, by mistake, a fish thinks that "I shall become an elephant and enjoy in the land," that is not possible. Similarly, we are spirit soul, aham brahmāsmi, we are all Brahman, and we have nothing to do with this material world. But because we are Brahman... Brahman means ānandamaya. Ānanda-cinmaya-rasa.(seeking pleasure) The Supreme Brahman, Krsna, the Supreme Person is...

Īśvarah paramah krsnah

sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahah (Brahma-Samhita Chapter 5 Verse 1)

“Kṛṣṇa who is known as Govinda is the Supreme Person. He has an eternal blissful spiritual body. He is the origin of all. He has no other origin and He is the prime cause of all causes.

And we are part and parcel of the Supreme Brahman. Therefore we are also sac-cid-ānanda, eternal, blissful, and full of knowledge. In the Bhagavad-Gita, Krsna says...

yam labdhvā cāparam lābham
manyate nādhikam tataḥ
yasmin sthite na duhkhena
gurunāpi vicālyate
[Bhagavad-Gita. Chapter 6 Verse 20-23

“In the stage of perfection called trance, or samādhi, one's mind is completely restrained from material mental activities by practice of yoga. This perfection is characterized by one's ability to see the self by the pure mind and to relish and rejoice in the self. In that joyous state, one is situated in boundless transcendental happiness, realized through transcendental senses. Established thus, one never departs from the truth, and upon gaining this he thinks there is no greater gain. Being situated in such a position, one is never shaken, even in the midst of greatest difficulty. This indeed is actual freedom from all miseries arising from material contact.”

Krsna consciousness, our original spiritual consciousness, is so nice that if one is perfectly situated in Krsna consciousness, then one's condition will be like this, that yam labdha caparam labham\manyate nadhikam tatah. Achieving this stage, one will forget about any other profit. We are hankering after profit, profit after profit. I have got so much money, I want to make it double. When it is double I want to make it ten times. When it is ten times, I'll make it hundred times. Our civilizations goes on increasng like this

Formerly, people were satisfied if they could construct one brick house, kota bari. Now they are not satisfied with kota bari, or brick house. They want to make it a hundred— or two hundred, or a five-hundred-story house. And when they construct a five-hundred-story house, they'll think of a thousand-story house. This is the nature of selfishness, of greed, or lābha. Everyone is hankering after more profit, more profit, more profit. But if one is situated in Krsna consciousness, then he is satisfied.

So fortunately for us, some of our students have taken very large tracts of land in various places in the world to develop a society based on Vedic knowledge, a simple life, eating simple things, grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, and they are saving their time for advancing in Krsna consciousness, in their spiritual life and self-realization. Modern civilization is implicated in ugra-karma—vast machinery, everything is complicated. The government is complicated, the society is complicated, the economics rule is complicated, the foreign exchange is complicated. Everything has become complicated.

Because we have given up our Krsna consciousness, therefore we have become entangled in the different varieties of material activities. Now we have to simplify it. The Krsna consciousness movement's aim is to simplify, to save our valuable life, to save the valuable time of our valuable life. This human form of life is very valuable. Krsna says in the Bhagavad-Gita...

bahunam janmanam ante

jnanavan mam prapadyante

vasudevah sarvam iti

sa-mahatmah su-durlabhah (Gita, Chapter 7 Verse 19)

After many births and deaths, he who is actually in knowledge surrenders unto Me, knowing Me to be the cause of all causes and all that is. Such a great soul is very rare.

After many, many births we have got this important life. So we have to save our time to utilize it for Krsna consciousness. So far as we have got this material body, we want to maintain it. The body and the soul live together. That is all right. For that, Krsna has given us every chance. Anywhere you can get some land and a cow. You can produce something nice, grains and vegetables, and fresh cow's milk. That is sufficient for our maintenance. Not everyone can be expected to possess such a cow. Nonetheless, an ordinary man may possess an ordinary cow, give protection to this animal, take sufficient milk from it, and engage the milk to produce butter and clarified ghee. This is possible for everyone. Thus we find that in Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa advises go-rakṣya, the protection of cows. This is essential because if cows are cared for properly they will surely supply sufficient milk.

We have practical experience that in the various farms in our society we are giving proper protection to the cows and receiving more than enough milk. In other farms the cows do not deliver as much milk as in our farms; because our cows know very well that we are not going to kill them, they are happy, and they give ample milk. Therefore this instruction given by Lord Kṛṣṇa—go-rakṣya—is extremely meaningful. The whole world must learn from Kṛṣṇa how to live happily without scarcity simply by producing food grains (annād bhavanti bhūtāni) and giving protection to the cows (go-rakṣya). This is the injunction of Bhagavad-gītā. In the matter of protecting the cows, the meat-eaters will protest, but in answer to them we may say that since Kṛṣṇa gives stress to cow protection, those who are inclined to eat meat may eat the flesh of unimportant animals like hogs, dogs, goats and sheep, but they should not touch the life of the cows, for this is destructive to the spiritual advancement of human society.

So let us try to make an attempt to organize a “simple living, high thinking” scheme based on Vedic knowledge, and I shall request all my students to develop this idea and show a good example to this Western part of the world, where people are always engaged in ugra-karma, asuric-karma (harmful acts) Things are becoming very implicated, and very complicated, and we must simplify with the proper knowledge, spiritual knowledge. Thank you very much.

“THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION”

Lecture by Matsya Avatara Dasa

Naples, Castello Angioino, 20th December 2008

Conference “The Science of Meditation”

MAN'S SEARCH FOR HIS OWN IDENTITY

First of all I would like to draw your attention on some cosmogonical aspects that will help us to understand the context where man stands. Today's man has forgotten where he is coming from, he does not know where he is going any more, but above all he does not know who he is, because he is totally identified with an external and temporary identity. This de-contextualization of man is one of the most serious problems that afflict present society and cannot be solved simply through scholarship. The research on one's own self constitutes the basis for meditation, as confirmed by the great texts of the Indo-Vedic tradition such as the Samhitas, Upanishads, Itihasas and Puranas, that can be compared for a very interesting dialogue with the contemporary Western Tradition. Among the many writers and Masters of knowledge that have explored instruments the immense Vedic Culture to get inspiration and concepts for their doctrines and theories, we can mention Carl Gustav Jung and his “individuation of the self”. Individuating one's self means knowing one's deep nature, without being limited by a fallacious and superficial level such as the level of sense perception.

The signals and the information that come to our consciousness from the external environment through the sense organs and the subsequent elaboration at the cortex level only represent a small part of reality, even below the 10% indicated by Prof. Genovesi during the previous presentation. Sense perception is zero compared with the knowledge of reality, and this also applies to our power of comprehension because it is subject to, and thus conditioned by, our sense perception. Therefore not only the senses (indriya) are fallacious, but the mind (manas) that constitutes the collecting area of the perceptive information is fallacious, too, precisely because it is based on sense perception.

The tendency (vasana) of the mind to depend on sensory data leads to the development of a pre-constituted, rigid and generally structured perception of the world, and when this perception is not integrated, it can not be useful to the definition of individual identity. The issue of the nature of personal identity is crucial to the effect of meditation. Indo-Vedic psychology identifies man in his entirety: just like the universe is called "the three worlds" as it is constituted by Earth, intermediate dimensions and Heaven, similarly incarnated man, too, has a threefold nature: physical, psychic and spiritual. The earthly constitution, solid and physical, is the material body, comprising that complex structure - the most complex material structure known to date - that is the Nervous System, but it also possesses a system that, although still material, has a subtler nature that cannot be graphically defined or positioned in space, or even measured in terms of time. Finally, there is the most intimate nature of man, the engine of life itself, its real essence and identity: the spiritual nature. According to Vedic wisdom, each living entity is ontologically atman, an eternal spiritual spark.

To simplify further, we could say that man's identity is split between two aspects connected to the different psycho-physical conditions that the individual has experienced along the various existential cycles of his history. One is the historical or false ego, that is the sum total of the psychic contents with which the individual identifies, called in Sanskrit ahamkara. The other is real, eternal and unchanging, beyond any space and time: his spiritual nature.

The fundamental faculty to access the dimension of meditation is constituted by attention that, contrarily to what is claimed by extreme positivism embraced by modern Western psychology, is not controlled by the Nervous System, but is supported first and foremost by the atman, the unifying center that keeps the personality together and that ultimately offers a unique and special character to the personality. The spiritual self uses the physiological and biological parts of the so-called "human" individual only as an instrument, nourishing and moving his energies. All the Schools of the classic Indian tradition (Sampradayas), all the lineages of the great Masters (acharyas) who have lived the Vedic teachings in their daily life, recognize the atman as the fundamental principle.

In Bhagavad-gita, one of the most popular texts shared by the different Schools of thought of the Indian continent, Krishna defines knowledge as that which distinguishes the field (the body) from the knower of the field (the self). Distancing oneself from the body does not mean rejecting or despising it; this would not be real detachment as what attracts us will eventually repel us. Heraclites also explained this point. In order to go beyond the duality of the opposites - attraction and repulsion, respectively raga and dvesha in Sanskrit - we need to rebalance the opposites, and to find the connection, the harmonization between them. In this harmonization, in this search for balance, in this case in Yoga, meditation is particularly important.

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 26 April 2009 at Towaca, USA.

To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.29 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 26 April 2009 at Towaca, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.2.29 - Chapter 2: Prayers by the Demigods for Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Womb

1966 April 27: "I shall open the Radha Krishna worship and Sankirtana in the rented house. The present flat is about 100' X 25' and there is ample place even to have a room for the deities of Radha and Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 April 27: "I have seen in you that Krishna has special mercy upon you and utilize this mercy fully so that in this very life you can be elected as the associate of Krishna in His supreme abode Goloka Vrindaban."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1967 April 27: "I am so glad to learn you had no difficulty on the border. These man made borders are disturbances in the Law of the Lord. As servants of Krishna we have every right to enter any land."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1969 April 27: "I am little disturbed hearing you are in financial difficulty. If you can sell our Back To Godheads and our books, how there can be financial difficulty? You can easily make $1,000 profit simply by selling BTG, and what to speak of our books?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

This weekend we had nice sessions of the japa room, devotees came in both sessions and were able to experience serious association and exchange ideas and obstacles in japa. The topic was related to how we can overcome obstacles after acknowledging them. There were very deep questions on many topics that devotees find difficult like the wandering mind....waking up early.....chanting while sick.....achieving taste and chanting and being worried about the number of rounds etc.

1970 April 27: "So try to recruit more members for our Society because we have to open many centers, and from each center we shall organize this moving Sankirtana Party."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

Jatayu dasa: I am trying to produce a seminar on how to help devotees overcome difficulties in reading and chanting. Could you please write to me with suggestions what you feel is a very important subject matter to include in such a seminar.

1971 April 27: "At least 400 of my foreign disciples must remain in India. They are my good assistants and they are missionaries also. So many Christian missionaries are working in this country. Why not Krishna Conscious missionaries?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 April 27: "The steps you have taken are worthy of one who is my disciple. So please revive your old Krishna conscious activities and make your life successful. Do not spoil your life for a woman."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 27: "Other than the bona fide Vaisnava functions, we cannot divert our attention. This has spoiled the Hindu religion into a hodge podge pseudo religion. We can help them but the function has to be in connection with Krsna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Gokulananda das ACBSP: Who are we but mist to the sun adrift in time's shifting sands - wandering without aim in this fools' paradise our misplaced desires reaping only bitter fruits - our evanescent dreams blown to the wind our smiling gardens awash in crimson thorns...

Candrabhaga dasi: We are pleased to announce this year’s date of the 5th annual Ratha Yatra in Jacksonville, Florida for May 30th. Procession begins at 12:30pm from 8th Ave N to 5th Ave S and ends at Latham Plaza behind City Hall.

Jusaniya dasi: We are pleased to announce our next hospice seminar. This newly revised seminar has been very successful in teaching the basics of caring for a terminally ill devotee or family member.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.1

1966 April 27: "I shall open the Radha Krishna worship and Sankirtana in the rented house. The present flat is about 100' X 25' and there is ample place even to have a room for the deities of Radha and Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1967 April 27: "I have seen in you that Krishna has special mercy upon you and utilize this mercy fully so that in this very life you can be elected as the associate of Krishna in His supreme abode Goloka Vrindaban."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967