Then I chant the covered sound or namabhasa, or nama-aparadha. Face the facts of my limits. Go on. See the virtue in utsahan niscayad dhairyat. Enthusiasm and patience.

This is a warm-up. I hope to be a little more aware than usual. I hope to not so fully allow myself to think over memories and plans while chanting. Then why not get the benefit of being here? I’m here, now make an effort, some gain, at least whatever is possible by my endeavor. It may be very small, but try for it.

The Office Dealer is a great site for all your office supplies. What makes it so terrific? One stop shopping and super low prices. Oh yeah, and the owner is not only a friend of mine but also my son's soccer coach (three cheers for Coach Braja!).

1969 May 1: "I do not know why I am attached to your country, but I strongly believe if the American boys and girls would accept this philosophy, it would render the greatest service to the rest of the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 May 1: "I want the Temples should be constructed by the local natives - that is our success. If I bring money from India and construct a Temple here, that is not very creditable."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 May 1: "Maya is always there like a shadow but if we become strong by following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds then everything will be all right."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 May 1: "So the first 2 lacs they've already taken. Tactfully they did not give us the conveyance nor returned our money, but the deal is completed. So when they shall give the conveyance, then we shall pay the balance."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 May 1: "We are introducing Krsna Consciousness movement for the harmony and good will of humanity. But if you yourselves are suffering from the very ills we are trying to remove, how can the people be influenced favorably?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 1: "Chanting, reading my books, going on sankirtana, following the regulative principles and worshiping the deity. This is the simple process and if we follow it we will become ideal. Otherwise, you will become victims of women and wealth."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 1: "Your main activity should be to distribute books. By this most powerful preaching we are becoming very influential in your country and people are seriously reading the books and considering the importance of Krsna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1967 May 1: "Either I remain here or there my business is to chant the glories of Lord Krishna. I have no idea for sight seeing in any country because I know that all land belongs to Krishna and anywhere I remain I remain at His Lotus Feet."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1967 May 1: "Either I remain here or there my business is to chant the glories of Lord Krishna. I have no idea for sight seeing in any country because I know that all land belongs to Krishna and anywhere I remain I remain at His Lotus Feet."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1969 May 1: "I do not know why I am attached to your country, but I strongly believe if the American boys and girls would accept this philosophy, it would render the greatest service to the rest of the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 May 1: "I want the Temples should be constructed by the local natives - that is our success. If I bring money from India and construct a Temple here, that is not very creditable."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 May 1: "Maya is always there like a shadow but if we become strong by following the regulative principles and chanting 16 rounds then everything will be all right."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 May 1: "So the first 2 lacs they've already taken. Tactfully they did not give us the conveyance nor returned our money, but the deal is completed. So when they shall give the conveyance, then we shall pay the balance."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 May 1: "We are introducing Krsna Consciousness movement for the harmony and good will of humanity. But if you yourselves are suffering from the very ills we are trying to remove, how can the people be influenced favorably?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 1: "Chanting, reading my books, going on sankirtana, following the regulative principles and worshiping the deity. This is the simple process and if we follow it we will become ideal. Otherwise, you will become victims of women and wealth."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 1: "Your main activity should be to distribute books. By this most powerful preaching we are becoming very influential in your country and people are seriously reading the books and considering the importance of Krsna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Topic: Krsna’s Cows

At this Istagosthi, 3 main gopas (Balabhadra, Ranaka and Jaya Prabhupada) attended, as well as two temple board members, Varsana Maharaj and 22 other devotees.

*Disclaimer: Although I attempted to take notes to the best of my ability, please forgive me for any mistakes or omissions in correctly replicating what was said. If there is anything that is specifically incorrect, please bring it to my attention.

Two quotations were written on the board and read:

In a letter from Srila Prabhupada to Hayagriva, June 14, 1968, SP said: “Krsna by His practical example taught us to give all protection to the cows and that should be the main business of New Vrindaban.”

“Without protection of cows, braminical culture cannot be maintained.
SB 1.19.3 purport.

Dev: We can give so many reasons why we are not taking care of the cows, we can point fingers and blame this one or that one for not taking care of the cows, but the bottom line is that if Cow Protection is minimized, we are essentially trying to fix the braminical culture without addressing the underlying cause.

Dev: What is Cow Protection??

Dev: Giriraj Maharaj just stated when he was here that the “comfort of the cows should be ahead of the comfort of the Brahmins.”

Dev: Our society needs to organize itself economically in taking care of the cows.

Dev: We can’t just look at the cows as dollars and cents. The four pillars of religious life are represented by the four legs of the cow: 1) Truthfulness, 2) Cleanliness, 3) Mercy, and 4) Austerity. The main focus is to protect these elements of society.

In Kali Yuga, only the last led is standing. If we are not protecting these aspects, the cows and the Brahmins, then the culture becomes corrupt. The cows comfort comes before our comfort.

People will see the four qualities focused around the cow. The social structure we represent will also have those 4 qualities. And then Krsna will send everything when we have that mentality.

Dev: Quotation from SP: GO bramana hitaya cha. Lord Krsna purposefully came as a cowherd boy. This is one of the Lord’s personal activities. When the cows are protected, then there is protection of Vedic knowledge. If the cows and braminical culture cannot be maintained, then the aim of life cannot be fulfilled. “Then everything is in a precarious condition.” (quote from SP purport)

When the cows are happy, their milk is coming. When they are stressed, they hold back and we don’t get the liquid religiosity.

We serve these 4 principles, these 4 legs, not for some economic gain. The gain will come by our hearts being cleansed. The main purposes are for:

Breeding – cows were breed, not for their milk, but for the bulls that were produced that would then plow the fields.
Manure – for fuel and fertilizer
Urine for medicine
The milk is the last reason and is not even a reason, but simply a by-product.

This show the use of the bulls is the most important. If we are not working the bulls then you really only have 50 % cow protection.

When we ignore the bulls, we are not even addressing the father – Dharma.

By utilizing the bulls, we show others that the bulls are more useful alive than dead.

There is one Muslim area in some foreign country that came to this realization. They saw that it was economically more productive to have their cows and bulls alive than dead and even in this area which is Muslim, there is no cow slaughtering.

Dev: It seems you are really describing a simple economy based on cow protection. So, although it’s not about dollars and cents, it is economically sound.

Dev: I suggest that we stop buying outside milk for the Deities and have no outside milk for any of the offerings, even the Feast, at least just for the Deities.

Dev: All the offerings for the Deities are with our cow’s milk, Generally the big feast preparations are prepared after the arotik and offered to Srila Prabhupada (it gives them 2 more hours to prepare the feast).

Dev: The solution is for the devotees to become the servants of the cows – by giving back to them.

Dev: The solution is given by Srila Prabhupada. For me it is about farmers having land and cows and living in this way; to come back to Srila Prabhupada’s vision of farmers and rural society. At least to prepare to give support to those who want to be farmers. Currently there is no option to be a farmer. There is no structure to support framers. Just like you have a structure for the Deity worship – you need a structure for the cows. You don’t have any relationship with the cows, you are busy. The cow’s are not a part of anyone else’ life. We need to transform this community.

Dev: It seems that we have bought into society’s structure with all it’s complexities. We have now become addicted to that system. So we do need a transformation and it might takes a number of steps to cut off from that system. It doesn’t seem like we can do it cold turkey.

Dev: The temple won’t give any land to anyone.

Dev: We are dealing with a global situation. Hundreds and thousands of persons have left their farms and moved to the cities. If you want to talk about a conspiracy theory – refrigeration has killed farming. AS a society farming is pretty much de-valued.

New Vrindaban is a reflection of that society. To make living on the land, we may have to take vows of poverty.

It is difficult because we are fighting the oil system. To run a tractor on your farm is a lot easier. Most people don’t want to do the hard work that is required. Most people don’t want to have a lower standard of living.

The cow is the personification of the Land. ‘GO’ means cow / land / senses. Cow protection means you are producing your own food.

It really takes money to subsidize the farming. If we had money in a trust fund. . .

Dev: How to figure out all the material (economic) aspects. If we take care of the cows nicely and spend time with them, Go Seva, then Krsna will shower His blessings down. Krsna can open up so many doors.

Dev: You are trying to fulfill the spiritual aspect versus looking at the economic reality. In our biggest year of production, what did we produce – 5 tons of potatoes. You can give to the temple, or you can recoup your investment or go out and find a market.

Srila Prabhupada said to first produce enough for yourselves. Everything has to make economical sense too. Srila Prabhupada was the most practical minded. When he printed all the books, he didn’t just give away his books. In fact, he sold a book to the captain of the Jaladuta.

We have to find a plan that makes economic sense. In regards to cow protection and REAL milk (from the cow), it costs about four times more than milk bought from the store.

Dev: It is simple to follow the order of Srila Prabhuada, but also complex on a functional level.

ISCOWP is a place to train young people to do ox training. Yet, how many persons are knocking down your door?? Is this a reflection of the lack of preaching, the lack of example or is it the reflection of the entire society??

If we continually subsidize, that is not the economic solution. How to make it work for New Vrindaban. It takes time to figure it out.

Dev: When I hear economics and money, I hear that people need security. We all need security, food and shelter, a way to support our families. When we can address the needs of the individual and the needs of the organization together, from that platform we might be able to come up with different options.

Dev: Why aren’t we talking about the cows right now, about the cows here across from the temple. I thought that is what this meeting was about.

Dev: We can address the immediate problems by taking up service by starting to have some attachment to that seva to the cows. You have a little land around your house – you can grow a little garden and make food for your family. Each on e of us has to take that leap of faith and take a stand to be that example. Make that plea to get back to village life.

Today I will take 1 hour towards that goal and you will see that you will become attaché to that service and little by little things will change. Each and every one of us – if we are not involved in those activities – we will not get a taste for that way of life.

Dev: I became a worker instead of a farmer.

Dev: This is a start example of what I am talking about. It has to be a solution. You are competing with the oil fueled production and then you have a devotee who can’t make it economically.

Cow protection has to be subsidized. How are we running the temple. The entire temple project is subsidized. We are spending money for this and that, but the cows are supposed to be our main business – why wouldn’t you need to subsidize the cow program also?

The gurukulis have grown up and have voiced their opinions. Even the women have gotten together and have expressed their voices. But the cows have NO voice. We could care for the cows if we had the funding.

Dev: How to fulfill the vision of being self-sufficient. Just start doing it in a small way and it can grow. Self-sufficiency helps us individually. To start cow protection, it can also begin in this way. We need some personalism to take it on in an individual way.

Dev: My realization is that maybe we could consider just serving Prasad that just comes from our garden. If we are willing to Commit ourselves to live more simply that might help.

Dev: The cows are receiving a lot of subsidy – but do we have good ideas and proposals. We also subsidize the agriculture. It has to be subsidized to do that.

Currently we don’t have the infrastructure to support self-sufficiency. Are we prepared to store the food all winter. That means raising money from somewhere.

Dev: I would like to acknowledge what has shifted in the last week since we first mentioned the cows. Devotees have taken an interest and are visiting the barn, brushing the cows and cleaning them up. Just the fact that so many devotees have showed up for this meeting shows that we are interested in cow protection.

Dev: When we take on the mentality that this is our project, then the community can flourish. When we call the cows - Jaya Prabhupada’s cows, or Ranaka’s cows, we separate ourselves from the cows.
Dev: It would be great to take on one project per year. Like doing a root cellar – we could have that be this year’s project. We used to have these community programs. We used to have all kinds of marathons – the brick marathon – all the roads around the lake and around the temple were built in those brick marathons. It’s fun to hang out together and a lot gets done.

We could build a root cellar from rammed earth tires. You can get the tires free and devotees can spend their time ramming them. If we would just take on one project that we can knock off this year.

Dev: If a devotee wants to come over and help at the barn, what time are you there, Jaya Prabhupada?

From 7 to 9 am Monday thru Friday and 8 to 10 am on Sat and Sunday and then in the evening from 5 – 6 p.m.

Dev: It would be good to have those hours posted somewhere.

Dev: If you already know what to do you can come anytime, you don’t need me to be there.

Dev: Sometimes I have free time and want to spend time with the cows but I don’t know where to find them or how to get access to them. Like when they are out to pasture.

Dev: We could do a little project by making a “Squeeze” – a little space where people and guests can get access to see the cows without having to open the gates. In the summer they are up on the hills. It is on our projects list to build a structure outside this little barn here where we could keep one or 2 cows all day with a tent so that people and guests could come see them and also circumambulate the cows.

Dev: This barn situation up here is not tourist friendly.

Dev: We could make a list of the things that need to be done on a daily basis could be drawn up and devotees could sign up for what they wanted. Caitanya Bhagavat could be the person to coordinate. He could take the manpower and help to direct them.

Dev: If you have an idea to increase the job, then please look to me and give me more hours. Are you going to get paid for doing that??

Dev: I was hoping I might, but I am not in it for the pay. I will do this service whether I get paid or not. In fact, I won’t take any money for this because I don’t want to cause any upset.

Dev: We all have to do this – money or no money.

Dev: We could organize different marathons – planting marathons. This could be a community building exercise. If we think we can just keep throwing money at problems to solve them – there is a limit. Can we thinking of another way to do it?? Caitanya Bhagavat offered to paint the whole barn without pay.

Dev: If you do have community marathons it would be great to announce them in advance and possibly have them at at regular time or day so devotees could fit it into their schedule and then they would show up.

Dev: Or we could have different time slots available.

Dev: In trying to help all the devotees have the task of serving the cows and the land. At the farm in Hungary, the devotees have been trained and they have the consciousness that everything is owned by the Deities. They are simply serving different aspects of The Proprietors: Radhe Shyam.

In Hungary they have built their root cellars. Sixteen (16) years ago they took a vow to work towards self-sufficiency. They are focused that everything belongs to Radhe Shyam and they are currently self-sufficient 8 to 9 months of the year.

Hungary – New Vraja Dham – is a dynamic center. They are coming to the Festival of Inspiration to give presentations. In NewTalaban no one gets paid. And they have almost 100 cows (more than us), with less devotees.

If we could see everything as serving Radha Vrindaban Candra and all their different.

In New Vraja Dham – no one gets paid but everyone is looked after and everyone gets taken care of.

They are subsidized in a few ways, but the government and by college educational programs. But they utilize it in leaps and bounds.

Dev: What are the schedules when we can come to the barn and serve. Let us know because we want to come.

Dev: Also, in regards to guest tours – the hours of the bard don’t coincide with when the guests want to wals around. They are willing to serve the cows also. If we can expand the opportunity for the guests to bet involved. Maybe right after breakfast , especially on the week ends would be a good time for the guests. We can also get the guests interacting with the cows.

Dev: We need to get the cows more visible – where the pine trees are.

Dev: If we move the greenhouse and shed out of the way. Right now there visibility is blocked. What about if we had the cows right by the road.

Dev: There should at least be some signs with a logo on then that starts in front of the temple and leads them to the barn. I’d like to see a map in the lobby – one that says you are here.

Varsana Maharaj: The whole collection of the most crucial issues is the devotees relationship with the cows and the land. Historically speaking, the things we achieve are those things that we prioritize. Make a list of the priorities.

When you achieve one step, that step becomes the teacher that leads you to the next step. Prioritize and evaluate – what step needs to be taken now and how that leads us to the next step.

Prosperity comes from cow protection and braminical culture. Then everyone prospers on all levels, when we have that faith.

Dev: What I would like to see would be:

1. A root cellar this year
2. Signs with cow (logo) that leads to the barn.
3. Some system for coordinating volunteers.

Dev: If the temple sees that something is a priority, they could schedule devotees to do that. To the extent we don’t take it as a priority it doesn’t happen.

Dev: I really feel the temple would benefit by having a clear understanding of where they are and what they are doing. A system for all the temples.

Dev: We need an immediate list by Jaya Prabhupada.

Dev: Madhava Gosh and Ranaka are working on a maha list.

Dev: Before the Festival of Inspiration we need to address a few things tonight.

Dev: Jaya Prabhupada shouldn’t feel shaky about his job security. Caitanya Bhagavat won’t be taking any pay.

Dev: We can readjust what Ranaka writes down. Devotees can go to Caitanya Bhagavat to find out what needs to be done and how they can do it and he will give the supplies to do it.

Dev: The devotees from Hungary, Radha Krsna Das and Manoram have natural living and cow protection in their community. They are going to stay for 2 days after the FOI. They are staying to share with us. They are subsidized from the government and from universities and their plan is very well thought out. It is off the theoretical stage.

Also Bhakti Raghava Maharaj and our own Varsana Maharaj will be giving classes on the similar topics.

Dev: Our cow protection people should be meeting with these devotees from Hungary. The Santee Farm project already ahs some recognition. This can be expanded if we put energy here. We can build on the Santee program and make it for the larger community.

Dev: The more you serve the cows and land, many dynamic things come from this. You can enter into the physical and spiritual aspects of Vrindavan when you travel to India. This is what catches my attention in India, the internal potency. It is a lifestyle: Putting Simple Living and High Thinking into practice – as a Priority. This requires an actual lifestyle change.

Dev: In Hungary they create their own menus with whatever is growing freely. And when they don’t have a certain ingredient, they don’t go to Whole Foods.

They have made the commitment to Radhe Shyam and Srila Prabhupada to do this.

Dev: When we grow our own food, we also have to feed the guests. How can we have this paradigm shift? When the guests learn they are eating food from our own property, they are very excited.

Dev: This gives us the wonderful opportunity to touch and be with the Mothers (cows).

Ranaka: I feel we are on the right track. I also feel that a root cellar would be the best place to start.

Dev: In self-sufficiency the first question is to where to have your storage, where to store your grains and also your potatoes, carrots and apples.

Dev: You might need 2 or 3 root cellars as certain things cannot be stored together. Apples can rot and cause other things to rot.

Dev: In Hungary they have a root cellar with 3 different chambers. We could have them speak at the Istagosthi just after the FOI which is in 2 weeks – May 12th.

Dev: What is next week’s meeting about. Let’s talk about what we are doing, what is happening already in the positive light. Please come and share, May 5th.

In Hungary they also planted 20,000 trees and now birds that had left are coming back to stay and the whole eco system is changing. Hungary farm has a lot of tourism. They are coming to see the ECO system – they get 20 to 30,000 a year. They come and are captured by the ambience.

Before the Festival of Inspiration, Caitanya Bhagavat needs volunteers to help:

Power wash all the walls of the barn (inside walls).
Fix the hinges on the gates that are broken.
Clean up all the cows
Clean up the field that is behind the palace (there are metal pieces that the cows are stepping on.
Please post the hours that Caitanya Bhagavat is available.

By H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami

In the early eighties, when I used to spend a lot of time in the Bay Area, a godbrother of ours, Citsukananda prabhu, told me that quite a few devotees who have left ISKCON are living in that area. One day, along with him, I decided to visit them. We just collected their addresses and knocked at their doors. One devotee was so happy to see us; he revealed to us that he a dream that morning that some devotees came to him and had a kirtan in the house. Although not many of them became actively involved in ISKCON, it was still nice that some of them responded so favorably. At that time I noticed that many of them are not really ready to come back to ISKCON, for various reasons.

During the last few years, due to different responsibilities, I haven’t been able to put any effort in trying to get the devotees who left ISKCON to come back. However, I always felt that we should keep our doors open for them to return.

Recently, I came to New York. The day before yesterday I had a program at the Sanctuary on 1st avenue, from where Yajna Purusa prabhu and his team of brahmacaris operate. When I got out of the car, they greeted me with kirtan. After my initial exchange with them, I noticed that there was a gentleman dressed in regular clothes standing next to us. At first I could not recognize him. But then he smiled at me and told me, “You look the same; you didn’t change at all.” Then I realized that it was Ramesvara prabhu. I was so happy to see him. We embraced and held on to each other for quite some time. He became so humble. I urged him that we walk together into the temple, but he insisted that he walk behind me. It was a quite a persuasion from both our sides. Eventually I won and forced him to walk along with me, with our arms on each other’s shoulder. I had to meet a group of devotees before the program; I was taken to a room where an arrangement was made for me to sit on a sofa while others sat on the floor. I suggested that Ramesvara prabhu and I sit on the sofa together. He was vehemently opposed to the idea. No amount of urging and pressure could make him change his resolve. Finally I decided to sit on the floor also. We had a very sweet exchange, and I had the good fortune of telling everybody about his glorious services to Srila Prabhupada.

During the class that I gave to quite a large number of devotees, I was emphasizing the need to preach in order to spread Krsna Consciousness. At one point I emphasized the role of the youth to take over that responsibility. At the end of the class Ramesvara prabhu pointed out that while the youth has to go out and become actively involved in preaching, the grown-ups and householders have to give them the necessary support. He suggested that while the brahmacaris go out to distribute books, the householders can sponsor the books. Taking a cue from that I asked who would like to sponsor books. People started to come up with all sorts of pledges. Right there in about less than ten minutes’ time, we had pledges for two thousand Bhagavad Gitas, and Ramesvara prabhu volunteered to match that pledge. It was indeed a very exciting evening.

It is very exciting to see how these stalwart devotees are coming back. I am sure our movement is going to benefit immensely when we can bring these devotees back to the fold and engage them in active service to Srila Prabhupada once again.

I am sure that many of the devotees who left ISKCON, after going through various experiences, are now ready to come back. On our part, we have to reach out to them with all sincerity, keeping the door wide-open.

I am also thinking of proposing to the GBC that we form a committee especially designed to achieve accomplish that mission.

I hope this meets you well.

You servant,

Bhakti Charu Swami

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

The Darwin Delusion is a new book by Lailitanatha Dasa, scheduled for release this summer.

Click here to check out a recent interview on ISKCON News with Lailtanatha as he details his motivations and inspirations for writing this book. It should be a heck of a read!

Srila Prabhupada emphasizes in his purport to Narrotama dasa Thakura's Svarana-Gaura-mahima (Gaurangera duti pada) that purification is achieved through chanting, dancing and taking prasadam. "Lord Caitanya's pastimes are very pleasing, because the basic principles of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement are chanting, dancing and eating Krsna-prasada." In the same paragraph he says, "The heart of anyone who takes to this movement of chanting, dancing ah, and eating Krsna-prasada will surely be cleansed of all dirty material contamination."

Srila Prabhupada emphasizes in his purport to Narrotama dasa Thakura's Svarana-Gaura-mahima (Gaurangera duti pada) that purification is achieved through chanting, dancing and taking prasadam. "Lord Caitanya's pastimes are very pleasing, because the basic principles of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement are chanting, dancing and eating Krsna-prasada." In the same paragraph he says, "The heart of anyone who takes to this movement of chanting, dancing ah, and eating Krsna-prasada will surely be cleansed of all dirty material contamination."

Fatness, thinness, bodily and mental distress, thirst, hunger, fear, disagreement, desires for material happiness, old age, sleep, attachment for material possessions, anger, lamentation, illusion and identification of the body with the self are all transformations of the material covering of the spirit soul. A person absorbed in the material bodily conception is affected by these things, but I am free from all bodily conceptions. Consequently I am neither fat nor skinny nor anything else you have mentioned.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 10 Verse 10

Gopi Gita dasi singing a Hare Krishna bhajan. This was during the annual Temple President meeting in Houston. Houston, TX 2009-01-18

There is no theory of evolution, just a list of animals that Chuck Norris has allowed to live.

By the way, from an evolutionary point of view Swine flu is the agent of natural selection and as such is the material cause of evolution of the species. So in this sense it occupies the role of the Deity of theists.

All glories to Swine flu.

View Larger Map

Where: Chiba St and Jaloon St, Ashgrove West
When: Sunday May 3rd, 2pm

Please note that we will start at 2pm, because we have to roll to the Sunday Feast at Govindas afterwards for a 5pm start.

According to one school of thought a spiritualist should not utilize anything produced by the material society. He must avoid contact with all material things. He cannot touch money. He should not wear a watch or travel in a motorized vehicle. He cannot use a computer or a mobile phone. He must keep himself completely detached from all material things....

KRS-One raps about meat eating way back in 1990.
This song entitled 'Beef' is from his Boogie Down Productions album.





Lyrics:
Beef, what a relief
When will this poisonous product cease?
This is another public service announcement
You can believe it, or you can doubt it
Let us begin now with the cow
The way it gets to your plate and how
The cow doesn't grow fast enough for man
So through his greed he makes a faster plan
He has drugs to make the cow grow quicker
Through the stress the cow gets sicker
Twenty-one different drugs are pumped
Into the cow in one big lump
So just before it dies, it cries
In the slaughterhouse full of germs and flies
Off with the head, they pack it, drain it, and cart it
And there it is, in your local supermarket
Red and bloody, a corpse, neatly packed
And you wonder about heart attacks?
Come on now man let's be for real
You are what you eat is the way I feel
But, the food and drug administration
Will tell you meat is the perfect combination
See cows live under fear and stress
Trying to think what's gonna happen next
Fear and stress can become a part of you
In your cells and blood, this is true
So when the cow is killed, believe it
You preserve those cells, you freeze it
Thaw it out with the blood and season it
Then you sit down and begin eatin it
In your body, it's structure becomes your structure
All the fear and stress of another
Any drug is addictive by any name
Even drugs in meat, they are the same
The fda has america strung out
On drugs in beef no doubt
So if you think that what I say is a bunch of crock
Tell yourself you're gonna try and stop
Eatin meat and you'll see you can't compete
It's the number one drug on the street
Not crack, cause that was made for just black
But brown beef, for all american teeth
Life brings life and death brings death
Keep on eatin the dead and what's left
Absolute disease and negative
Read the book 'how to eat to live'
By elijah muhammad, it's a brown paperback
For anybody, either white or black
See how many cows must be pumped up fatter
How many rats gotta fall in the batter
How many chickens that eat s*!t you eat
How much high blood pressure you get from pig feet
See you'll consume, the fda could care less
They'll sell you donkey meat and say it's
Fresh! for nineteen-ninety, you suckers

Here are some free albums that I've discovered and have been listening to lately:

Abakus - The Jaguar Session (2009)

You can download this for free by signing up for Abakus' mailing list on his Myspace page. It's a 55 minute electronic jam live and direct from his bedroom. His 2004 album "That Much Closer to the Sun" has been a regular on my iPod ever since I discovered it during a hard drive rescue mission for a friend.

I also just got my preview copy of Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits new album Ten Million Moons. I'll let you know what I think of it later on...

[I had "albums" because I was going to include a link to Del the Funky Homosapien's new album. However, it's just a whole lot of swearing, and didn't seem very funky to me, so I didn't.]

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.6 - Devotees should practice gratitude for the gift Srila Prabhupada gave them.

The Journey Home-Autobiography of an American Swami

by Radhanath Swami

Reviewed by Steven Rosen (Satyaraja Das)

The Journey Home is a spiritual memoir—the real-life, autobiographical
account of an exceptional countercultural youth who leaves America in search
of himself. Trying desperately to access the continent within, he sets out
first for Europe, visiting cathedrals, holy places, and hippie hotspots.
With little more than a seeker’s heart and a blues harmonica, he leaves few
avenues unexamined, as his overland journey takes him through the Middle
East and beyond. Western religious ideals and the models who exemplify them
are his first natural guideposts and ports of call. He is open, nonsectarian
and, most of all, earnest.

Ultimately, he arrives in India by the end of 1970, where he finds himself
living the life of a wandering sadhu, a mendicant, with little money and
fewer resources. His travels lead him in many directions, both
geographically and philosophically, and the reader watches him age with the
wisdom of centuries. In a few months, his young world is augmented by
experience and realization. We accompany him into a magical land of yoga,
meditation, and soul-stirring revelations. At various points in his journey,
he meets deformed lepers and frightening Naga Babas, contemplative Buddhists
and mystic yogis—even old friends from the West and angelic devotees.

Through the author’s personal encounters, the reader is introduced to many
of the prominent yogis, monks, and gurus of the era—Swami Shivananda, Swami
Rama, Swami Satchidananda, Swami Chidananda, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Ananda
Mayi Ma, Neem Karoli Baba, Muktananda, even the Dalai Lama and Mother
Teresa—either directly or through their legends and teachings. We meet many
nameless luminaries as well, and those whose names, if not for Radhanath
Swami, we would have never heard. Our blossoming seeker meditates under the
original Bodhi Tree—the Buddha himself meditated and achieved enlightenment
here!—and studies with masters and saints.

Each experience inches him closer to his goal. We witness, with him, the
burning of dead bodies in Benares and fascinating pilgrimages to ancient
cities (and inner worlds) where life takes on new meaning, high in the
Himalayas, Tibet, and in holylands innumerable. He lives in caves, deep in
forests, under trees, and moves throughout the subcontinent with a thirst
for “the truth” that is rarely seen—anywhere.

The book is replete with touching, heartwarming (and sometimes
heart-rending) episodes—like when he rejects the advances of a beautiful
woman for the sake of his quest, or when he feelingly and with tears bids
his harp goodbye, throwing it, once and for all, in the River Ganges, or
when he meets his eternal guru. All such scenes are recreated for the reader
with deep emotion and storytelling expertise. Both descriptive writing and
perceptive analysis are plentiful in this book, making it a precious gem
that will enrich the reader with its shining brilliance.

The meeting with his eternal guru is, in many ways, the pivotal episode in
the book. It was on this momentous occasion that all he had learned would
suddenly gel for him. The Indian print of Lord Krishna our young seeker had
carried with him for numerous months, uncontrollably attracted to it, now
had personality, definition—it was the Supreme Lord as evoked in the Hare
Krishna Maha Mantra. This sacred chant, too, was something he had carried
around for many moons, having mystically received it through the grace of
the Ganges River. But now, by his guru’s grace, he was able to connect the
form with the mantra, the Godhead with His spiritual sound vibration. It all
came together, like the three rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, and the
Sarasvati—in Prayaga. Still, his quest continued, even after meeting his
master, just so he could be sure that he had left no stones unturned.

But it was in his master’s eyes that he found his way home. This is where he
discovered the true depth of the Ganges and the ultimate meaning of the
Himalayan masters; the value of lineage holders and the wisdom of the Vedas;
the secrets of mysticism and the heart of devotion. His master’s very being
spoke of purpose, mission, and unending love. Home, too, was in Vrindavan,
Lord Krishna’s holy playground, which embodied his master’s essence.

Throughout this work, we find the author’s culminating realizations, as well
as correspondence written to family from distant lands, set apart from the
rest of the text, both with italics and with inset block quotes. These are
often pithy and rich, thought-provoking and even profound. In fact, the
block quotes, along with the book’s picture sections, showing the author as
a youth, with family and friends—so one can visualize the main players in
his life—and with spiritual “celebrities,” such as the Dalai Lama and
others, add immeasurably to the book’s overall effect.

After trekking for months through hostile lands, often barely escaping with
his life, he approaches the threshold of an eternal and magical realm where,
realizing that he has at last reached the precipace of his spiritual goals,
of Bhakti, or devotional mysticism, he makes the astonishing and almost
anticlimactic decision to leave. He returns back to the world from which he
came in order to share what he has learned.

It is an extraordinary choice, given what he survived to get there: a
journey filled with bizarre and often dangerous characters; mystical,
life-altering experiences; treacherous encounters that left permanent marks
on him and on those around him. The narrative of that journey unfolds as an
engaging tale, a love story, and an education in spiritual reality in all
its forms. We are with him through solitude; when he stumbles upon saintly
and accomplished teachers; and as he experiences moments of splendor and
enlightenment. The fact that he graphically and effectively conveys all this
is quite an achievement for a first-time author.

The act of turning back, of potentially denying one’s own salvation so that
the world may benefit, holds a revered place in most wisdom cultures.
Bodhisattvas, the “enlightened beings” of Buddhism, are motivated by such a
wish and forego their own entrance into nirvana, the state of enlightenment,
in order to work for the progress of society. In the Jewish faith, the
tzaddikim or “righteous” men and women (tzidkanit) are great souls who
strive to uplift the oppressed and establish justice. The history of
Christianity bears testimony to the price paid by Christian mystics,
apostles and martyrs who served as conduits for the spirit of God in the
world. And in India the title sadhu is awarded to learned spiritualists who
embody the holy life and serve as teachers and guides.

Not all sadhus risk their spiritual attainment to help others.

In traditional India, there are basically two types of sadhus. One type is
called bhajananandi. These are sadhus who shun society and live in forests
or caves, where they devote all their days to intense penance, rigid study,
and sing bhajans, sacred hymns. They remain aloof from money matters, their
diet is austere, and for most seekers of enlightenment their path is
impossible to follow. The other sadhus are known as goshtananandi. These
sadhus travel to populated cities to give everyone a chance to hear about
God and the principles of a holy life. Their path requires them to confront
one of the greatest challenges of the divine call, namely how to live a holy
life in utterly unholy surroundings. They show it is possible to remain
egoless in an ego-driven environment. Simply put, their teaching is as
follows: how to be both in the world and yet not of it.

According to a brief Author’s Note at the back of his book, Radhanath Swami
emerged from his years of travel wanting to explain for others the beauty
and mystery of what he had discovered, and therein lay a dilemma. Judging by
this very intimate account, he is a shy soul who finds it uncomfortable when
a spotlight is focused on him. Writing an autobiography was just not his
style, but he undertook the exercise in response to appeals made by a number
of his admirers. One friend in particular, Bhakti Tirtha Swami (1950–2005),
was an African-American guru who had risen from an impoverished childhood to
become a Princeton graduate, civil rights activist, High Chief in the Warri
kingdom of Nigeria, and a spiritual leader with students on five continents.
He was also one of the few people in the world who knew the full scope of
Radhanath’s odyssey. In 2005 as Bhakti Tirtha Swami lay dying from cancer,
he made a request. He asked Radhanath to set aside his reservations and
write the story of his journey to God. At first Radhanath refused, saying
that writing about his own life would be “sheer arrogance.”

“Don’t be miserly,” Bhakti Tirtha told him. “Share what has been given to
you.” He passed away two days later.

In some ways, Radhanath Swami’s hesitation over coming back into the world
after his discovery of Bhakti was justified. After all, having gone through
the numerous experiences related in this book, his was now the peaceful and
fulfilling life of an accomplished recluse; why take backsteps into the
drudgery of material life? Associating with those focused on sense
gratification, he knew, would engender the worst of risks. But his ultimate
choice, in terms of path and teacher, tells the story. At this point, we can
let the name be known: By selecting Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada (1896–1977), a pure devotee—an activist, who lived only to help
others—as his guru (after declining offers of initiation from several yogis
and other adepts in the Himalayas and elsewhere), Radhanath Swami cast his
fate to the wind, cut his matted locks, and bought a ticket back to America.
More than a symbolic gesture of moving away from the mindset of physically
renouncing the world, these were first steps toward an “engaged” form of
devotion. This contemporary strain of the Bhakti tradition maintains that
people who are aware of their spiritual identity must help to reduce
suffering in the world around them. They must share what they’ve been given.

Every recent generation has had its bestselling mystic guidebook, often
focusing on the life of an exemplary seeker. The 1940s gave us works on the
lives of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda as well as Paramahansa Yogananda’s now
classic Autobiography of a Yogi. Thomas Merton’s Seven Storey Mountain,
detailing the Trappist monk’s quest and accomplishment, came soon after
that. The following decades produced a slew of mystic accounts, prominent
among them are Carlos Castaneda’s series on Yaqui shaman Don Juan Matus and
the cult classic Miracle of Love: Stories About Neem Karoli Baba. The Ochre
Robe, an autobiography written by Agehananda Bharati, dominated the genre in
the ‘80s, but there were others.

These first autobiographical books, as listed above, focused on Shaktas or
the neo-Hinduism associated with Advaita Vedanta, or on yogis, as in the
case of Yogananda. For a Christian hagiography, Merton was decidedly more
modern in his approach. Biographical tales of Yaqui shaman mysticism and of
Neem Karoli Baba, both, were tinged by the psychedelic mode of the ‘60s and
by generic Hinduism. Agehananda was a Dasanami sannyasi, following the
philosophical conclusions of Shankara.

The next generation belongs to The Journey Home. Like its predecessors, it
offers readers an intimate look into a true seeker’s life, and into the
tradition he ultimately chose to follow. But what is unique here is that the
tradition of choice is Vaishnavism. The books mentioned above, and so many
others like them, invariably sidestep the Vaishnava tradition. There may, of
course, be many reasons for this: Those focusing on Western spirituality
need not look at the Vaishnava sages and their theological background at
all. It simply doesn’t figure into their survey. But the Eastern texts are
another story. With Vaishnavism accounting for the vast majority of “Hindu”
practitioners in the world today—a statistic that was initially brought to
light by Agehananda Bharati himself—its omission in the pages of the world’s
spiritual biographies is inexcusable.

That being said, the time has finally come for Vaishnavism to be given its
due, and there is hardly a more worthy representative than Radhanath Swami.
Indeed, he has learned from and appreciated every single religious leader
and tradition that has crossed his path. He views reality in an unabashedly
pluralistic way, never discounting the value and merits of any genuine form
of esoteric spirituality. He is nonjudgmental in the best, most enlightened
way—as a Saragrahi Vaishnava, one who looks to the essence, seeing all
religion as just so many roads to the same goal, which is, of course, God.
This makes him a superlative Vaishnava, indeed. Thus, The Journey Home
stands tall in the long line of spiritual classics mentioned above—and it
richly deserves to be there. It, too, has found a home.

*Steven Rosen (Satyaraja Dasa) is an initiated disciple of His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. He is also founding editor of the
Journal of Vaishnava Studies and associate editor for Back to Godhead. He
has published twenty-one books in numerous languages, including the recent
Essential Hinduism (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008) and the Yoga of Kirtan:
Conversations on the Sacred Art of Chanting (FOLK Books, 2008).*

If one is seriously interested in Krsna conscious activities, he must be ready to follow the rules and regulations laid down by the acaryas, and he must understand their conclusions. The sastra says, dharmasya tattvam nihitam guhayam maha-jano yena gatah sa panthah (Mahabharata, Vana-parva 313.117). It is very difficult to understand the secret of Krsna consciousness, but one who advances by the instruction of the previous acaryas and follows in the footsteps of his predecessors in the line of disciplic succession will have success. Others will not. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says in this connection, chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara peyeche keba: "Unless one serves the spiritual master and acaryas, one cannot be liberated."

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Adi 8.7

The word Dovetail, so often used by Srila Prabhuapada to describe how our material activities should be related to our spiritual life, was originally used to describe a type joint between two piece of wood.

The idea is that by cutting the two pieces of wood in such a way that they interlock they become so strongly connected that nothing can separate them, they are like one piece of wood.

Eventually the word came to have meaning outside of carpentry, here are few definitions

"To fit in or connect strongly, skillfully, or nicely; to fit ingeniously or complexly."
"To combine or interlock into a unified whole"
"to join or fit together compactly or harmoniously."

Our consciousness and all our activities must be dovetailed with the Supreme, it must be so interlocked that it becomes a unified whole with the Supreme, in perfect harmony with the will of the Supreme.

"The individual consciousness is advised to dovetail with the supreme consciousness, as instructed by the Lord in Bhagavad-gita. The individual consciousness (Arjuna) is advised to dovetail with the supreme consciousness and thus maintain his conscious purity. It is foolish to try to stop the activities of consciousness, but they can be purified when they are dovetailed with the Supreme."

"Pure devotees are not desirous of any material enjoyment, nor are they averse to it. They completely dovetail their desires with the desires of the Lord and perform nothing on their personal account."

Subject:

Caitanya Bhagavat is coordinating some cleaning of the cows and the small barn by the temple, in preparation for the Festival of Inspiration.

He will be available at the hours listed below. If you come within the first ten minutes of the posted hours, he will be at the barn and will show you what needs to be done.

If you come in the middle of the timing (say at 11:30 am), he may be up in the pasture behind the barn grooming the cows in the pasture, or picking up items in the pasture.

For anyone who wants to volunteer this week before the Festival you can leave a message the day before you plan to come at 304-843-5168.

Caitanya Bhagavat’s hours (for this coming week only):

Thursday 10 am to 1pm
Friday off
Saturday 10 am to 1 pm
Sunday 10 am to 1 pm
Monday 10 am to 1 pm
Tuesday 10 am to 1 pm
Wednesday 1 pm to 5 pm

Thank you for your participation.

ys, Sukhavaha dd

Everyone please check out Radhanathswami.com.

April 30, 2:15 A.M.

I’ve had a bad night. I woke up at 9:00 P.M. with a headache and took a medication. I woke up again at 10:30 P.M. with another headache and took a medication. I had a ridiculous dream. Some of us were being held at the naval reserve center. We were being threatened with reprimand. I thought it was a bluff and that by the end of the evening, I would be able to go home. But when I tried to leave, an officer stopped me. He asked me what my rating was. I said I was a journalist third class. He said the reprimand was because we had promised Prabhupada to build architecture in a naval reserve program, and we hadn’t done it. Since I was a J.O. 3, I should have sent out newsletters about the architecture and drummed up support for it. So now apparently I would have to send out newsletters, but because I’m computer illiterate, I didn’t know how I would do it. It seems so silly to think that Prabhupada was supporting the naval reserve and wanting architecture and had taught it. I couldn’t get back to sleep. I finally got up from bed at 2:00 A.M., so I mostly didn’t get any sleep last night. When I woke up at 2:00 A.M., I had another headache and took more medication. I’m lying back in my La-Z-Boy chair, and Baladeva has put the sling on. There were phone calls during the night, at 10:00 and 10:30 P.M., so he’s not in good shape either. With my headache, I can’t do my japa session, but I’m just hoping that the headache will go away.

4:14 A.M.

Japa essay

In just a few minutes, I get into my space capsule and shoot off into the spiritual world of japa-yajna. This will be the first hour for today. All paraphernalia is ready—the altar, the japa-mala, the stopwatch, my willingness. I know I’ll hit the brick wall and will disperse in many directions. I can’t prevent that. But I can keep going and keep trying for a break in the weather conditions. I mean looking for a break. It may not occur. He may handle me roughly in His embrace. (What a statement! If He does embrace me, why complain, “It was rough. He’s not gentle.” Be glad you are embraced.) Or He may neglect me and not come before me as I chant His name. Even in pure sound He may not be willing to come.

Then I chant the covered sound or namabhasa, or nama-aparadha. Face the facts of my limits. Go on. See the virtue in utsahan niscayad dhairyat. Enthusiasm and patience.

This is a warm-up. I hope to be a little more aware than usual. I hope to not so fully allow myself to think over memories and plans while chanting. Then why not get the benefit of being here? I’m here, now make an effort, some gain, at least whatever is possible by my endeavor. It may be very small, but try for it.

No rounds today

because of pain in the eye.

But surely I’ll make them up later.

I cannot go a day without my quota.

I’m sorry I cannot chant. Krishna,

please help me! This body is too

broken down to even chant the mantras.

So I lie back in my chair and sleep and rest.

Skip once, but I’ll be back

before too long and make up

for my lacking. I promise You this

with all my might.

4:30 A.M.

From Forgetting the Audience (1993): “ am the one who has to write. Take it seriously, please. The angels of mercy come down as suddha-sattva. You become overwhelmed by feelings of ecstasy, and that is sattvika-bhava. These things can be studied, but it is different when they actually happen to you. Anyway, I simply want to be well employed in Krishna's service. Daruka didn’t even like the ecstasy which impeded his service of fanning Krishna. So we write on. There is no snow falling in Ireland, but it is plenty windy . . .

“Krishna is my God and the God of all, and He is the one whose names I am calling. I am doing a little thing, noticing that my mind is wandering and then snapping out of it. This is good. Show Krishna that I care and am taking steps to improve myself. Then He may make something change. It is up to Him. Keep aware of that, keep saying it, keep it on your mind. Ultimately, I can do nothing. Whatever little things are in my own power, that also is granted by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

8:00 A.M.

“The Awakening.” One awakens to spiritual life and is happy. One wakes in the morning after a sleepless night. That’s not so nice. But what’s meant here, I think, is an awakening in life, a change in life, and that’s what happened to me in 1966. I surely woke up when I met the Swami. New music came into my life, new dance, new tears, new friendship with the great grandfather spiritual master. He was so kind to me. He gradually taught us boys the Bhagavad-gita. Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings. The soul is eternal! He liked Brahmananda’s letter in which he said that Krishna lives in the spiritual world and that we can go and live with Him. Ahmad Jamal is playing this very tenderly, but with the bounce of awakening. He’s a jazzist. Jazz is awakening music. You get your toes tapping and your fingers tapping and your heart beating. Such nice melodies. I’m awake again, even with a broken collarbone. He plays real well—hardy chords, awakening runs down the keyboard. The Ahmad Jamal special. He must have awakened when he was five years old and started playing the piano. Discovered his nitch. My awakening was writing. Writing from the heart, sentimenetal at first, thinking of finding a girlfriend. I pasted a picture of a girl and a boy under a blossoming apple tree in my diary. I wrote about the Jean Shepherd radio show. I wrote about my sadness. But it was an awakening to be able to write. Now I’m awakening to chanting japa. Oh, am I really? Yes, I think so. It’s starting to happen. He wrote the tune himself. Writing music is awakening. Play it softly.

“I Love Music.” Such a wonderful sentiment. Some people don’t love music, or they love awful music, rock ‘n roll. But classical music and tasteful jazz and folk music is music to love. Oh, you have your tastes. But music is an unspeakable thing, and tasteful people love it. It brings them to life. It brings them out of the blues. Or it even brings them into the blues, but in a way that makes life more meaningful. This tune is romantic, but not for a boy or girl. It’s romantic for music itself. Music soothes the savage beast within us. Makes us happy again. Makes us feel victorious. There are national anthems and school anthems, and they play them when they win. He says he loves music, and we believe him because he plays it so nicely on his piano. It’s an art, it’s a discipline. It’s not easy to master music. Many people limit their love of music to listening because they can’t learn to play it. I’m such a person. My parents bought me a guitar, but I never could learn how to play it. But I love to listen. At first, I listened to rhythm and blues by the hour. The top twenty. You go through periods in which you love different kinds of music, like Beethoven quartets and Bartok. But then later you don’t like Bartok. Even jazz. For a period of time, you stopped listening, and now you’re listening again. The music of the Vaisnavas celebrates Krishna. Many wonderful bhajanas in Bengali that you don’t understand. But the simple music of the Hare Krishna mantra in many different tunes and many different intruments is something you can keep with you always. The twenty-four-hour kirtana led by Aindra. Different sankirtaneers lead in their different ways and have their fans. Mrdanga, harmonium, karatalas, flute—even trumpet and saxophone are being added nowadays. “As Kindred Spirits” is a famous group led by Gaura Vani. And dozens of others around the world. You don’t have to be a famous singer, or even a great singer, but you have to keep in tune.

“Patterns.” Patterns on the floor, linoleum, Navaho tribal blankets, oriental rugs. Patterns in music, patterns of the mind. It’s good to have patterns; they follow a beat and our familiar routines. Krishna has His patterns of loving exchange. He always plays the same wrestling games with His friends, and amorous sports with the gopis run through patterns. Sometimes they’re envious of each other. They do these same things every day, but they’re full of newness. Scotch patterns, Celtic patterns, Picasso patterns. Even I have patterns for how to draw the nose and eyes of people in my drawings. The heart has a pattern of beating on time. We have patterns of uptimes and downtimes. There’s a pattern to japa. It’s best in the morning. Follow the pattern of your spiritual master, what he told you, what he taught you. I need patterns for my Deity clothes. It’s not easy to do, only an expert seamstress can do it. I have a couple of lady friends making patterns for Radha-Govinda. I hope they come out nicely. Then I’ll see more variety in Their dresses. Give them a pattern, and they’ll follow it. Ahmad Jamal’s bassist keeps a pattern of beat to go with the piano. And the drummer, too. It’s nice. We don’t want chaos. But a pattern laid down underneath the music.

“Dolphin Dance.” Down at Lewes Beach, we see the dolphins dance. They rise up in the water with their shark-like fin, but they’re friendly. They used to dance off the stern of the USS Saratoga and off the bow, too. They’d leap up against the ship just for fun. They’re fun-loving mammals. They’re big fish. They leap from the water. They careess the side of a boat. They look at you with big eyes. Sometimes dozens of them range out around humans in their boats and arch their backs out of the water and down again. Krishna drew dolphins on Radharani’s breasts. That is His playful nature. He chooses that animal because they’re a symbol for sensuality. He chooses that animal because it’s the delightful one. The dolphins dance, and people go to the zoos to watch them leap for fish. They’re one of the most playful animals in all the world. Sometimes they save people in danger. Sometimes they swim along with human beings. There have been many films made of dolphins, and many people love dolphins. Krishna made the dolphin, and He made the tiger, too. Did He who make the lamb make thee? It’s all according to karma.

“You’re My Everything.” This is a Radha-Krishna song. A song of every pure devotee toward the Lord. King Yudhisthira had opulence beyond the king of heaven, but he didn’t care for it. All he cared for was serving Krishna. Krishna was his everything. We should strive for this. You’re my everything, Krishna. I don’t want anything else. I just want to love You and serve You. Ahmad Jamal plays it nicely, soft and tender, as it should be played. “You’re my everything” is a tender sentiment and one to be kept true. It’s the highest thing. You’re mine, mamata. You belong to me, and I belong to You.

“Stolen Moments.” What does this mean? You steal moments from your regular routine. You do everything for Krishna. Things that are meant for the workaday routine, you take and you use it in Krishna’s service instead. Steal time for Him. He’s playing it softly, but he’s stealing the time, all right. It all adds up in the end, all those moments that you didn’t use for routine karmi service but that you stole for the Lord. You took the time that should have been used for ordinary things and used it for Him. They are delightful moments taken without “authorization.” Be a thief for Krishna. Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Steal the dutiful times and celebrate them in festivals. Stolen moments are your eternal benefit.

“Wave.” The waves come in at sea, frothy. Our life is lived in waves, some blue, some happy. Jamal is playing this strongly, with lots of middle course. His rhythm section is quiet and supportive. The waves come and go. Krishna rides the waves on the back of Ananta Sesa in the tumultuous ocean, but He’s not in danger. The song has got momentum and an almost Latin beat. The bass plays in waves. Wave to me, and I’ll wave to you in friendly love. Let those waves not be too high to go over our heads and cause our death. Give us gentle waves. Waves are dangerous. But people who are expert know how to ride them on their surf boards. And people who are devotees ride the waves of love.

11:15 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna...

Please accept a prayer from me. I want to praise You. I want to petition You. I want to express my gratitude to You. All kinds of prayers I wish to offer to You, because You are the one to whom we should pray. You are known as Lord Krishna, the all-attractive, and I know that You are most attractive, especially to Your devotees. My dear Lord Krishna, please accept my prayers as honest tokens of love. The best prayers are when I work for You, when I try to spread Your glories to help the fallen souls. You like prayers of action, as well as prayers of beautiful words.

What is a prayer? A prayer is intimate writing to You. A prayer is flowers offered in a vase on either side of Radha-Govinda. A prayer is sweat on the brow for working for You. In New Delhi, Prabhupada worked so hard to distribute his Back to Godhead magazine that he almost fainted in the heat. His life in all his actions and thoughts was a living prayer to You. He wanted to distribute Krishna consciousness to the people of the world, and he started in a struggling way with his League of Devotees. It did not succeed, and yet he tried. He wrote letters to big politicians, and he wrote books, three big volumes of Srimad-Bhagaatam, and distributed them through the booksellers, although not many got distributed, at least not while he was in India. He brought those books with him to America and gradually sold them all. He had to print new editions, which was done by his disciples. They were at a higher standard than the Indian editions. He made his disciples pray to You with their bodies, minds and words. He created a praying movement, which exists still today.

What is a prayer? A prayer is money donated for the cause of Krishna consciousness. A prayer is the act of distributing books to people on the streets, asking them to please take a look at a book about God.

A devotee wrote to me that my prayers to You make him sad because in them, I admit my shortcomings and my sufferings. I wish my prayers would make people happy and to make You happy. But sometimes prayers are tears. Sometimes prayers are admittances of shortcomings and wishes to improve. There are all kinds of prayers, and not all of them sincere. Prayers are raucous sankirtana with drums, bugels and whompers. Prayers are soft and melancholic, with a harmonium and a spirit of yearning bhajana. Prayers are made with an overabundance of feelings of love. Prayers are made out of poverty. Prayers are composed in Sanskrit with perfect meter and always correct philosophy. Prayers are sometimes made with stuttering and mixed sentiments and unsure feelings. But You accept even the broken prayers of Your devotees who turn to You in need.

Some devotees don’t pray to You at all, they just work for You silently with no bombastic words. Other devotees are great poets and compose verses that are worth reciting by all the world. Their prayers are full of connections and defeat sunyavadi and nirvisesa philosophies.

Here are my prayers, Lord. I make them every day out of the silence of my yellow submarine. I pray that You accept them as vandanam, one of the nine methods of devotional service. I ask You to forgive me for not following up my written prayers with acts of bravery and devotion. I want my prayers to be ecstatic, describing You and Your pastimes. I want my prayers to be not exaggerations of sentiment but realistic cries to You to accept me. Please accept this prayer today from me and find some good in it and let me make a better prayer tomorrow.

My evening was interrupted by waking up from dreaming. I finally woke for the last time at 11:00 P.M. and couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up from bed at 2:00 A.M. with a foggy head. My thoughts were wrapped up in a dream where some devotees wanted to change the text of the Bhagavad-gita, but I was arguing against it. I washed my face and called Baladeva to put my sling on. Baladeva gave me medication for my aching shoulder. I began my japa at 2:30 A.M.

My dear Lord Krishna and my dear Srimati Radharani, it’s good that I call for You like that in distress. Calling to get out of this material world, but you don’t seem to answer. I call louder and louder, but there’s no relief. I’ll have to do it with more devotion if I expect You to respond. It was a crazy little episode, but I’m making an analogy out of it. My shoulder still aches. My heart still aches because I call for You, and You cannot come. I do not deserve that You come. It is premature for me to call for You. I am calling to You for relief from my own distress. I should call to You for service. “Please let me serve You!” My shoulder is throbbing. Why isn’t my heart throbbing? Why aren’t I distressed in mind because You cannot hear me when I call for service? I’m certainly like Ajamila, calling for his son, calling for the right thing. I do call Your names, and so Your visnudutas will come and at least ensure that the yamadutas

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #57→

1971 April 30: "It is published that four Hare Krishna Movement Missionaries were killed in Dacca by soldiers. I had advised not to go after the civil war began but I am afraid they were very daring and might have gone against my instruction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

We always hear about it....it is the service attitude that Krishna is actually looking for. Of course, the ideal situation is having the right service attitude and offering him the results.

But that being said, it's sooooo easy to forget about cultivating and maintaining the right service attitude. How do I actually focus on the fact that this service is for Krishna's pleasure instead of being preoccupied with the results? I was reminded once again of how far I am in achieving my goal of constantly reminding myself, "Who is this service for? It's for Krishna." My normal thought process stops at "Who is this service for?" and unfortunately most of the time I never get to the second part, reminding myself it is all for Krishna.

So what happens when I don't answer my own question? I start worrying about the results and I instead focus on my own limited capacities. The result of that is I don't end up being a conduit for Guru and Krishna's mercy.

Case in point today. I am blessed to be heading up a mini-festival called Yoga Meltdown which is part of our large Toronto Ratha Yatra Festival (which by the way is celebrating its 37th year!). I was doing some service today which involved promoting the festival. After I finished my service, I had an epiphany. I did not ONCE think about how this festival is to help others come in contact with the highest teachings of bhakti yoga- love for Krishna. Instead I was totally focused on whether I was saying the right words and how effective I was as a promoter.

Definitely that is an important aspect. We should be focused on our service and always try to improve. But the point in this case is that I wish I could have even taken a few minutes before to chant and pray to my spiritual master to be an instrument in his hands.

So I'm grateful for the mercy of Guru and Krishna to recognize this. Next time before I do anything, the first thing I'm going to do is thank my spiritual master for the most precious gift he has given me, the holy name, and sincerely pray that I may assist him in spreading it around.

1969 April 30: "So far as the songs that you have written, you may send me a copy of them and I shall see them. In Montreal also they are writing songs in the popular Western style of music and it is coming very nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 April 30: "If your house can develop into a students home, preaching our philosophy to the residents, it will be a great service. If the occupants take part in kirtana and hear our philosophy, certainly they will take it up."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 April 30: "Parivrajakacarya is ordered not to stay more than three days at a place, but at the Paramahamsa stage, one can stop moving. So I have made my headquarters here, still I may go outside."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 April 30: "It is published that four Hare Krishna Movement Missionaries were killed in Dacca by soldiers. I had advised not to go after the civil war began but I am afraid they were very daring and might have gone against my instruction."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 April 30: "To err is human, so in the neophyte stage some discrepancies are there. Kindly forgive their small mistakes. The big thing is they have given everything to Krishna - that is never a mistake."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1966
April 30: "At present I am staying in New York city and holding my classes on the culture of musical kirtana as well as discourses on the cult of devotion (Bhakti) which are participated by the American Youths, Ladies and Gentlemen."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1969 April 30: "So far as the songs that you have written, you may send me a copy of them and I shall see them. In Montreal also they are writing songs in the popular Western style of music and it is coming very nicely."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 April 30: "If your house can develop into a students home, preaching our philosophy to the residents, it will be a great service. If the occupants take part in kirtana and hear our philosophy, certainly they will take it up."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 April 30: "Parivrajakacarya is ordered not to stay more than three days at a place, but at the Paramahamsa stage, one can stop moving. So I have made my headquarters here, still I may go outside."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1973 April 30: "To err is human, so in the neophyte stage some discrepancies are there. Kindly forgive their small mistakes. The big thing is they have given everything to Krishna - that is never a mistake."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 April 30: "Forget your relationship with him. Now you become mixed up in Krsna business and live like a chaste Hindu widow woman, wear white sari and engage 24 hours a day in chanting Hare Krsna Mantra."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 April 30: "They sit separately in the temple and then outside mix again. Therefore I get the boys and girls married. But nature is so strong that in spite of being married they are attracted to the opposite sex."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 5, Text 24 by Giriraj Swami.

2009-03-20
Dallas, TX

TRANSLATION

O Maharaja Parikshit, subduer of all enemies, after Lord Brahma finished speaking to the demigods, he took them with him to the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, which is beyond this material world. The Lord's abode is on an island called Svetadvipa, which is situated in the ocean of milk.

PURPORT

Maharaja Parikshit is addressed here as arindama, "subduer of all enemies." Not only do we have enemies outside of our bodies, but within our bodies there are many enemies, such as lusty desires, anger and greed. Maharaja Parikshit is specifically addressed as arindama because in his political life he was able to subdue all kinds of enemies, and even though he was a young king, as soon as he heard that he was going to die within seven days, he immediately left his kingdom. He did not follow the dictates of enemies within his body, such as lust, greed and anger. He was not at all angry with the muni's son who had cursed him. Rather, he accepted the curse and prepared for his death in the association of Sukadeva Gosvami. Death is inevitable; no one can surpass the force of death. Therefore Maharaja Parikshit, while fully alive, wanted to hear Srimad-Bhagavatam. He is consequently addressed here as arindama.

Another word, sura-priya, is also significant. Although Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is equal toward everyone, He is especially inclined toward His devotees (ye bhajanti tu mam bhaktya mayi te teshu capy aham). The devotees are all demigods. There are two kinds of men within this world. One is called the deva, and the other is called the asura. The Padma Purana states:

dvau bhuta-sargau loke 'smin
daiva asura eva ca
vishnu-bhaktah smrito daiva
asuras tad-viparyayah

Anyone who is a devotee of Lord Krishna is called a deva, and others, even though they may be devotees of demigods, are called asuras. Ravana, for example, was a great devotee of Lord Siva, but he is described as an asura. Similarly, Hiranyakasipu is described as a great devotee of Lord Brahma, yet he was also an asura. Therefore, only the devotee of Lord Vishnu is called sura, not asura. Lord Krishna is very much pleased with His devotees, even if they are not on the topmost stage of devotional service. Even on the lower stages of devotional service one is transcendental, and if one continues with devotional life, he continues to be a deva or sura. If one continues in this way, Krishna will always be pleased with him and will give him all instructions so that he may very easily return home, back to Godhead.

Concerning ajitasya padam, the abode of the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the milk ocean of this material world, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura says: padam kshirodadhi-stha-svetadvipam tamasah prakriteh param. The island known as Svetadvipa, which is in the ocean of milk, is transcendental. It has nothing to do with this material world. A city government may have a rest house where the governor and important government officers stay. Such a rest house is not an ordinary house. Similarly, although Svetadvipa, which is in the ocean of milk, is in this material world, it is param padam, transcendental.

Download: 2009-03-20 - Giriraj Swami - SB 8.5.24.mp3

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

Gargamuni Prabhu from Slovenia wrote:

I've just come from two harinams, in which we sit and perform bhajan-style chanting. In one small city in the north of Slovenia (near Dravograd), I talked to the most (or one of the most) popular singers in Slovenia. He writes good, sometimes funny lyrics that carry strong points about the stupid lifestyles people live. He accompanies himself with a guitar. He has been a vegetarian for many years and has some of Srila Prabhupada's books. He told me that "Life Comes from Life" changed many things in his thinking. He bought three more books from me.

Many great Vaisnavas like Vrindavana dasa Thakura have talked about the heart as side of the brain which deals with psychology and emotions, feelings, and inspiration -- the irrational element of life. We tend to ask, "What do you think?" rather than "What's in your heart?" But in many ways the heart is the true measure, vision and worth of any human being -- where he or she is at, so to speak. So in this sense the heart is more than just a bodily organ that pumps blood throughout the body.

The great brâhmana Jada Bharata said: My dear King and hero, whatever you have spoken sarcastically is certainly true. Actually these are not simply words of chastisement, for the body is the carrier. The load carried by the body does not belong to me, for I am the spirit soul. There is no contradiction in your statements because I am different from the body. I am not the carrier of the palanquin; the body is the carrier. Certainly, as you have hinted, I have not labored carrying the palanquin, for I am detached from the body. You have said that I am not stout and strong, and these words are befitting a person who does not know the distinction between the body and the soul. The body may be fat or thin, but no learned man would say such things of the spirit soul. As far as the spirit soul is concerned, I am neither fat nor skinny; therefore you are correct when you say that I am not very stout. Also, if the object of this journey and the path leading there were mine, there would be many troubles for me, but because they relate not to me but to my body, there is no trouble at all.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 10 Verse 9

Harinam with BB Govinda Swami in Brussels Belgium part2

The Hare Krishna Temple is very excited to announce that HG Brhat Mrdanga das will be visiting ISKCON Toronto next week and will be in the GTA for close to two weeks!  Arriving on Tuesday, May 5th, Brhat Mrdanga prabhu will be spending time at both the Toronto and Brampton centres. 

When I realized how unlimitedly merciful Srila Prabhupada is in bestowing the unlimited bliss of Krishna consciousness upon those who take shelter of him, I naturally wanted to reciprocate with his inconceivably sublime mercy by becoming his disciple. In this connection I have composed the following verse:................ ================================================================== Thought...

This year, once again Jagattarini Mataji and Bhurijan Prabhu will lead a sadhana retreat at Hare Krishna Valley.

Join them from Friday June the 5th. evening until Monday June the 8th afternoon. You can book by phoning Keshava das on 0405-577-453 or emailing keshava.tkg@pamho.net.

Places are limited, so don't delay.

Your costs will be as follows:

Singles        $155
Couples       $205
Concessions $105
Per child       $25
Day visit       $40

ISKCON Toronto's Pujari Department began a Deity Worship Seminar on April 19th, 2009. Originally, this seminar was only for second initiated devotees. However, due to many people expressing an interest in learning more about deity worship the seminar has been opened up to everyone! This seminar is ideal for anyone who would like to learn about deity worship in the temple or would like to improve the standards of their home worship.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.5 - Qualities of a saintly person.

Following are the details of the upcoming courses and retreats in Sri Vrindavan Dham for your information. Please inform your friends and make it known on your temple notice board. Bhakti Sastri July 1, 2009 - Oct 18, 2009 (Systematic in-depth study of Bhagavad gita, Nectar of Instructions, Nectar of Devotion, Sri Isopanisad).

By JANE E. BRODY April 27, 2009

"There was a time when red meat was a luxury for ordinary Americans, or was at least something special: cooking a roast for Sunday dinner, ordering a steak at a restaurant. Not anymore. Meat consumption has more than doubled in the United States in the last 50 years.

Now a new study of more than 500,000 Americans has provided the best evidence yet that our affinity for red meat has exacted a hefty price on our health and limited our longevity..."

Read the full article...

It’s an interesting analogue of Krishna Consciousness centers and temples being like a hospital, this is for me fascinating but said with little insight at to what a hospital is or how they function. If we are a hospital then that brings with it great responsibility, it is also an open access hospital with no one [...]

Balaramkrishnadas.jps: Predominating will there be in the coliseum, the arena of man's fight with illusion. for millennium after millennium, the sweet reverberation of sounds: "Bhaktivedanta Swami", "Srila Prabhupada". - the intellectual Iskcon- bullet bangs?

Candrasekhara dasa: Mother Syama-priya devi dasi, affectionately known as Mama Syama to her friends and others, has departed. She was the mother of ISKCON Prison Ministry; a vartmapradarsaka guru to hundreds of bhaktas and a siksa guru to thousands over the last twenty years.

Campakalata Dasi: Beautiful 1 bedroom log cabin for rent in Hillsborough, North Carolina $675 per month 2 min drive/10 min walk to New Goloka temple. Wooded area with creek. Near Eno River. Hardwood floors. Paved driveway. Screened in porch...

Amaraprabhu dasa: We arranged for a 32 Maha Kalasha Abhisheka, and YOU and your whole family can also take part and be blessed by the function.

Aprakrita Dasa: We are always working to find good prices for the devotees and friends of Lord Krishna. Sometimes we receive a donation and thus want to share a part of this donation with you.

By Bhakti-lata Dasi

Shyama Priya not only left me the most valuable inheritance I could ever dream of in the form of her service, but she taught me very important life lessons while she was alive, as she was dying, and even after she died.

By Simhesvara dasa

Kavicandra Maharaj, an ISKCON GBC, had once remarked that on each of his planned or unplanned visits to Malaysia he is either at a Ground Breaking event, Nama Hatta opening or a convention.

By Antony Brennan

Reportedly the kidnappers can receive up to 10,000 rupees for a single cow. According to villagers the kidnappers are becoming more brazen and better organised.

By Taruna dasa

All around, the Himalayan beautiful peaks were visible and I was imagining the Yogis meditating and performing tapasya in caves and secluded areas of Himalayas. After a couple of hours we reached suitable place at Devprayag where we could assemble our boats and start this most incredible journey.

April 29, 2:11 A.M.

My evening was interrupted by waking up from dreaming. I finally woke for the last time at 11:00 P.M. and couldn’t get back to sleep. I got up from bed at 2:00 A.M. with a foggy head. My thoughts were wrapped up in a dream where some devotees wanted to change the text of the Bhagavad-gita, but I was arguing against it. I washed my face and called Baladeva to put my sling on. Baladeva gave me medication for my aching shoulder. I began my japa at 2:30 A.M.

3:30 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

Because of my shoulder, I did not chant out loud but chanted in the mind. My chanting was very rapid, mostly under six minutes a round. In a quiet way, I was attentive to the syllables and the names, without being distracted by other themes. I occasionally glanced in the direction of Radha-Govinda and felt comfort. They are a very sweet couple. I did not have any particular japa thoughts but just the driving force of the accumulation of beads and rounds. I took satisfaction in the accumulation. My head remained clear. The best part of the session was the rapidity of it. The weakest part was the lack of deeper meditation upon Radha and Krishna and Vrndavana.

Japa essay

Time to get off this page and go to japa. (You are worried that this ink will smear with moisture before you can get it typed. If you really mean this, then use a ballpoint pen. But I like these better—they flow—and so far we haven’t lost material because of smeared pages. So many fears and insecurities. It’s a good plan to avoid them. But in the end, you can’t protect yourself and your work from erasure by time. The soul, however, does not get moistened or dried out or shredded; it doesn’t lapse, expire, or go out of print. It doesn’t need money or food. It needs love—but it already has that—Krishna loves us. You don’t need to look for love or work or prepare. As Srila Prabhupada said, "Everything is there." Just discover it.)

“Now go and discover your own japa-yajna. Have a good time. See you later.

A japa man

makes little pies in the oven,

at the rate of under six minutes per round.

His cherry tarts are delicious to taste

and he offers them to the Lord.

They’re done in haste, but with diligent devotion.

He’ll chant some more.

Because he’s worked so fast,

he reached the quota.

He’ll chant some more

As the sun rises at the beach.

Please pity the japa man, self-pity for his shoulder,

but he will keep making those pies

and be content with that.

From Forgetting the Audience (1993): “So you had no subject or theme. Still you sat by the fire,and M. massaged your back and head and arms. That’s new. I relaxed. Oh, and I slept an hour earlier, making up for the sleeplessness of night.

“You stumble on a path. Those with you ask, ‘Where are we?’

“You frankly say, ‘I don’t know. This is just a wandering.’

“‘Okay,’ someone says, ‘but can we at least discuss some krsna-kath? Are you averse to it?’

“‘No,’ I say. Madhavendra Puri was wandering in ecstasy in Vraja. He didn’t beg for food but only accepted what anyone brought him. A beautiful, young cowherd boy came and gave him milk, asking what tapasya and meditation he was performing. Madhavendra Purî accepted the milk from the boy and went on chanting all night. At the end of night, he dreamed (svapna) that the same village boy came to him. ‘I reside in a bush,’ Gopala said—for indeed that boy was Gopala Krishna Himself, and He had been waiting a long time for His pure devotee, Madhavendra Purî, to come and visit Him in Vraja.

“Please take Me out of the jungle. Establish worship of My Deity form, which was first begun by Vraja but has now been neglected. Mådhavendra Purî did it.

“They worshipped Gopala in a wonderful manner with abhiseka, a temple opening, and then regular, daily puja.

“Foam at sea. Somewhere, a vast ocean of milk. Ksîrodaksayî Vishnu lies there on the ‘surf board’ of Ananta Sesa. It is pleasant and inconceivable (acintya).

“Even better is the Lord in Vraja playing in the Yamuna.

“When you chant on your beads, can you think of these things? Why don’t you surround yourself with books and insert their sayings into these sessions?”

6:02 A.M.

Yesterday, a monstrous tractor leveled the sand on the beach. It had a huge plow and gargantuan wheels. It moved big dunes and flattened them. It reminded me of Maharaja Prthu’s leveling the earth for agricultural purposes. Trees should be preserved, but Maharaja Prthu knocked down acres of trees for the purpose of farming. He had no tractor but just bullocks. Yesterday’s tractor as a monstrosity of the modern age. As they say, the difference between men and boys is the size of their toys. Now the beach looks neat and inviting for summer bathing. The sun ball is just coming up over the horizon, but it’s shrouded temporarily by a piece of cloud. It is bright orange, and it is breaking free of the cloud. But there are heavy banks of clouds high in the sky. The sun looks like a fluorescent pumpkin.

We are down here to chant, but we are drowsy. Maybe if we walk it will be better, but I don’t know how long my ankle will last. Except for the sun in the corner of the sky, Krishna’s picture is overcast, and the water is a little choppy. Every day He paints a different picture, which no artist can imitate. Or they can imitate, but they cannot imitate the fresh presence of His new morning. Their pictures are wonderful, but they are always stagnant and immobile.

8:00 A.M.

“Bemsha Swing.” This is a song composed by Thelonious Monk and played by Cecil Taylor on Piano and Steve Lacy on soprano saxophone. It’s on a CD called Jazz Advance. Cecil Taylor plays very different from Monk, more complex. He mixes in elements of classical music. And lots of dissonance and his own stuff. He is one of the most advanced pianists. I don’t know what “Bemsha” means. We can only guess. Maybe it’s a town in Alabama. It doesn’t really matter. What matters is connecting it to Krishna. It connects because Taylor is so artistic and sublime. He’s so original, he makes you think of Krishna. Really, I’m not kidding. He makes you think of Krishna swinging in the trees. He makes you think of Krishna doing crazy, mischievous things, like stealing the butter from the gopis’ homes or stealing the clothes of the gopis when they were in the water. He’s choppy and eccentric. Monk is much simpler, though he’s original in his own way. We can connect together Krishna’s pasties to “Bemsha Swing” and see, like dioramas in motion.

“Charge ‘Em Blues.” “Charge” means like a military brigade or a football offensive. Steve Lacy’s soprano sax is on this one. A little like Krishna’s flute? These are very original players. Krishna’s also not a staid academic player. They play something you’ve never heard before. It turns your head. I won’t say Steve Lacy’s soprano melts the stones of Govardhana or makes the Yamuna stop flowing. Krishna’s flute does that. But Steve is very swinging. Cecil Taylor plays choppy chords, choppy notes. Charge ‘em blues. He reminds you of Krishna too because he’s so totally originally. He comes out of his own genius, not borrowed secondhand from someone else. He’s charging down the field with the cowherd boys streaming behind Him at a fast pace. Bing bing bing—his notes are esoteric, played in odd time.

“Azure.” This is a tune by Duke Ellington. Cecil Taylor plays it softly. Azure is the color of Krishna’s body. “Azure” can mean the blues, the struggles devotees have to go through to reach the epitome. There are so many troubles on the path of bhakti that they sometimes fall down. But when they can see the azure Krishna, then they’re relieved. As usual, Taylor is playing it in a different way from the way Duke Ellington play sit. He’s jumping around the keyboard in choppy measures. My shoulder is azure, black and blue. But that’s not the meaning. It’s a mood by the Duke, transformed by Taylor into something not so moody and smooth but eclectic and clectic. There’s no one like him, except Krishna. Boy, if Krishna played the piano, wouldn’t that be something? The Azure playing “Azure.”

“You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To.” Cole Porter song. This song usually means he’s met a girl he’d like to marry, and she’d be so nice to come home to, so nice to have her there. But it can also be taken to mean that Krishna is home, and He’d be so nice to come home to. The queens could come home, and Krishna would be there, or the gopis. But Krishna is so restless, He doesn’t stay at home. He would be so nice to come home to because He’s all-attractive and He’s always ready for sports. But the difficulty is He doesn’t stay home. Cecil Taylor is playing it eccentrically, and I guess that’s how it would be with Krishna, too. You’d come home and expect Him to be there, but He wouldn’t be there. Or He’d be there just for a while, and then He’d say He has to go. He has to go and kill some demons, or He has to go to Mathura. But it’s a fact that Krishna does stay home in Vrndavana always, and it’s so nice to go there and know that He’s always there with all His charming features.

“Sweet and Lovely.” This describes the gopis. They are sweet to look at, and they are lovely in their characters. The sweetest thing about them is that they have all love for Krishna. Krishna is their whole life. They are the most beautiful women in the worlds. They attract Krishna. Krishna Himself is sweet and lovely, and so there’s a mutual attraction. Cecil Taylor isn’t playing it so sweet and lovely. He’s too eccentric. But the gopis and Krishna are actually sweet and lovely, And it’s accessible. Right away when you see them or hear them, it’s not strange, it’s lovely. Their faces are lovely, their smiles are lovely, their bodies are lovely, their speech is lovely. Krishna is sweet, sweet, sweet, madhuram, madhuram, madhuram. That’s the best kind of love of God, madhurya, or sweet. There’s no room for awe and reverence, it’s just sweet and lovely exchanges of the most intimate kind. How nice it would be to go there where there’s no kuntha, or anxiety. It’s not sentimental, it’s not sticky-gooey. It’s actually sweet, like the lilacs, like the call or the cardinal. Sweet like things we know in this world that are actually lovely—the lotus. In the spiritual world, it’s beyond comparison. We can only sing a song of sweet and lovely thinking of this world, but if you let me, I’ll transform it to the spiritual world, where you can think of it in that way.

My dear Lord Krishna...

I was just calling out for You in distress. I was stuck in the La-Z-Boy chair and couldn’t get out. I couldn’t move my right shoulder because it’s too much pain, and so I couldn’t get out of the chair. Baladeva was not in the house, so I couldn’t reach him by the radio. Dattatreya is down one floor below, but his door is shut and my door is shut. I started crying out his name, “Dattatreya! Dattatreya!” I was actually calling for You, Krishna, but I couldn’t expect You to come into my room and pick me out of my chair, so I was calling for Dattatreya. It was like Ajamila calling for his son Narayana. I felt such great pain in my shoulder and cried, “Dattatreya!” Finally, I pushed my buttocks forward and was able to squeeze out of the chair, but it took about ten minutes of agony.

Is this what it’s like to be in this body and to be without You? To call for You and not have You answer. You can’t answer because something’s not right. You can’t hear me.

My dear Lord Krishna and my dear Srimati Radharani, it’s good that I call for You like that in distress. Calling to get out of this material world, but you don’t seem to answer. I call louder and louder, but there’s no relief. I’ll have to do it with more devotion if I expect You to respond. It was a crazy little episode, but I’m making an analogy out of it. My shoulder still aches. My heart still aches because I call for You, and You cannot come. I do not deserve that You come. It is premature for me to call for You. I am calling to You for relief from my own distress. I should call to You for service. “Please let me serve You!” My shoulder is throbbing. Why isn’t my heart throbbing? Why aren’t I distressed in mind because You cannot hear me when I call for service? I’m certainly like Ajamila, calling for his son, calling for the right thing. I do call Your names, and so Your visnudutas will come and at least ensure that the yamadutas will not take me away. My dear Lord Krishna, You’re the only one who can save me from pain and danger. You are the only ones who love me, You and Your devotees. I pray for relief. I pray to serve You. I pray to understand that that’s what I need. I can be stuck in a chair for ten minutes, but that’s nothing compared to being stuck in hell for eternity. And if I am not nice, my cries will go in vain. Please teach me to cry in the right way, and please teach me to behave so I will not be stuck. This is not much of a prayer, but it is a genuine cry for You from my need. At least I see You are the one I have to call to, the only one who can save me. Hare Krishna.

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #56→

Religion often turns people away because of this humongous guilt trip sitting in the back seat somewhere, backseat driving one to deep alleys of all the bad bad things done in the past, and all the bad bad punishment awaiting in the future. Krishna Consciousness take a more radical approach that sends debates and arguments pouring out like shaken up 7 UP.
In the Bhagavad Gita, 9th Chapter, 30th Verse, amongst a few others, Krishna declares:
Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination.
This verse seemingly gives a go-head to any devotee to commit as many abominable actions as possible as long as he stays in devotional service. Kind of a turn off too. Just because I'm a Krishna devotee I can do what I want? Hmm... Elsewhere we find that people who commit abominable actions on the strength of chanting, or raising the "but I'm a devotee" flag, are committing a bigger blunder- one against God Himself!
As I grow up daily, with decisions to make, not just for myself, but now for three new monks travelling with me, I begin to understand a little better and with a little more humility, the nature of the supreme being.
These new devotees, as enthusiastic as they may be, can also be deep cutting with uncultured words and actions and sometimes, more often than not, I'd no sooner opt for a log upside the head than a ready-to-forgive attitude. But as I reflect on what actions to take, the above mentioned verse comes close to home; I was once new too, and also very uncultured. Learning how to act in human society is one of the most amazing challenges I've ever faced and I'm also beginning to broaden that as a matter of fact for most people.
As monks, we live in very close proximity of each other, and often, being individuals, we may not always get along. The Spiritual world, far form Utopian is a realm of individuals with opinions, likes and dislikes, etc etc. This philosophy of spiritual individuality makes the spiritual realm a more amazing place each day.
When in my ready-to-tear-you-apart pre-rage, Bhagavad Gita 9:30 points me out with the greatest question: are you also without sin? Were you not in that same shoe before?
At such times, when called out by God himself, I can only then show that I'm still in the showers heading towards a cleaner me. Forgiving, especially from one in a so called position of authority can lighten the burden we're all struggling to carry- misidentifying with the body. The more we practice excusing, even the most abominable actions of others, the closer we come to Krishna. And often too, subordinates may expect to be led by Superman and Robin Hood. When a younger person forgives an elder, the law of Karma lightens up on us erasing that point in the future when student today may on the morrow have to be teacher.

We know not what the future holds, of marvel or surprise, assured alone that life or death, His mercy underlies.
Just a little thought on healing, there's plenty more.

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

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: "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

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

Our new family member, the newly-born Candan has arrived to Krishna-valley. He is a really extraordinary little bull. His mother, Kartika is a Hungarian spotted breed and the father, Nandi is the first Indian Zebu bull in Krishna-valley. In this way, Candan has inherited all the good qualities of their parents as well as their beauty.

“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.