Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 5, Text 25 by Giriraj Swami.
Dallas, TX
2009-03-21
TRANSLATION
There [at Svetadvipa], Lord Brahma offered prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, even though he had never seen the Supreme Lord. Simply because Lord Brahma had heard about the Supreme Personality of Godhead from Vedic literature, with a fixed mind he offered the Lord prayers as written or approved by Vedic literature.
PURPORT
It is said that when Brahma and the other demigods go to see the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Svetadvipa, they cannot directly see Him, but their prayers are heard by the Lord, and the needful action is taken. This we have seen in many instances. The word sruta-purvaya is significant. We get experience by directly seeing or by hearing. If it is not possible to see someone directly, we can hear about him from authentic sources. Sometimes people ask whether we can show them God. This is ludicrous. It is not necessary for one to see God before he can accept God. Our sensory perception is always incomplete. Therefore, even if we see God, we may not be able to understand Him. When Krishna was on earth, many, many people saw Him but could not understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Avajananti mam mudha manushim tanum asritam [Bg. 9.11]. Even though the rascals and fools saw Krishna personally, they could not understand that He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Even upon seeing God personally, one who is unfortunate cannot understand Him. Therefore we have to hear about God, Krishna, from the authentic Vedic literature and from persons who understand the Vedic version properly. Even though Brahma had not seen the Supreme Personality of Godhead before, he was confident that the Lord was there in Svetadvipa. Thus he took the opportunity to go there and offer prayers to the Lord.
These prayers were not ordinary concocted prayers. Prayers must be approved by Vedic literature, as indicated in this verse by the words daivibhir girbhih. In our Krishna consciousness movement we do not allow any song that has not been approved or sung by bona fide devotees. We cannot allow cinema songs to be sung in the temple. We generally sing two songs. One is sri-krishna-caitanya prabhu nityananda sri-advaita gadadhara srivasadi-gaura-bhakta-vrinda. This is bona fide. It is always mentioned in the Caitanya-caritamrita, and it is accepted by the acaryas. The other, of course, is the maha-mantra -- Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. We may also sing the songs of Narottama dasa Thakura, Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Locana dasa Thakura, but these two songs -- "sri-krishna-caitanya" and the Hare Krishna maha-mantra -- are sufficient to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead, although we cannot see Him. Seeing the Lord is not as important as appreciating Him from the authentic literature or the authentic statements of authorized persons.
Itt vagyunk a Pittsburgh-i reptéren. Nemsoká indul a gépünk vissza New Yorkba. Izgalmas volt, élményekkel és tapasztalatokkal gazdagodtunk. Sikerült 5 videóra való anyagot felvenni. Ebből kettőt már össze is vágtam. Sajnos az internet kapcsolat nagyon rossz volt, ezért nem tudtam ott feltölteni. De New Yorkban megpróbálom mihamarabb pótolni ezt 
Addig is egy fotó a Prabhupada Palace of Goldról.
Here are links to Bhaktamarga Swami’s blog where he mentions his visit to the Festival of Inspiration:
His Grace Vaisesika Dasa, a disciple of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, based out Bay Area California will be coming to Toronto, New Remuna Dhama at the end of this month, specifically to conduct a fabulous orientation and educational session on how to do effective Book Distribution & Sankirtan.Vaisesika Prabhu is a well-known champion book distributor for North America and has very kindly agreed to pass those skills onto all the devotees in GTA .
Session includes Presentation, Orientation and On-field Training. The seminar will start on Friday May 29th (evening) and continue all day on Sat May 30th. More details to follow.
Register ASAP via email reply to registerforcourse @ gmail.com
By Stephen KnappThis is a simple explanation of how we should view economics according
to the principles of Vedic Dharma. First of all, the higher vision of
Vedic understanding is that we see everything as the energy of the
Supreme Being. If we can see the Divine in all of life, meaning in all
beings, we must understand that there is a way of conducting business
between each other that upholds and advances our perception of this.
Conducting business or managing economics in a way that deliberately
cheats or exploits others will harden our hearts and our sensitivity
so that we become unable to perceive the Divine in all living beings
and even in ourselves.
The point is that there must be integrity in all transactions and
business relations. If we use the above mentioned principle, then by
seeing the Divine in all living beings, we must realize we are not
merely doing business with another person, but we are also doing
business with the Divine within that person. This means that the
Supreme is also observing our every act, not only from within us but
from within the person with whom we are dealing. If the relationship
has integrity, then that is fine. We will continue in our spiritual
development even while doing our business.
But if there is dishonesty and cheating in our involvement, then the
quick profits we make will only pave our way downward. This will not
be helpful. So we must conduct ourselves, even in business, with the
foundation of the Dharmic principles.
We have easily seen that companies with power may produce various
foods, drugs, beverages or devices that are said to be of great
benefit or are healthy for us, or help us solve our problems with no
side effects or unexpected problems. Yet time and time again we learn
that different kinds of products have indeed been pushed on the public
and have caused harmful side effects, much to the dismay, suffering
and frustration of the people. In fact, However, the company or even
government may deny any such possibility of injury. However, you must
always bear in mind that a story presented as factual from an entity
or company whose purpose is power, control or profits is often a story
not to be trusted.
For example, in today’s world, the use of paper currency, which only
represents a value rather than being a tangible item like gold or
silver coins, may be convenient to the user. But those in positions to
set the value on such currency can also more easily manipulate it.
This creates abstractions in the link between the paper representation
and the actual gold it is supposed to be representing. At other times
the combined confidence that people and governments place in a
currency may fluctuate greatly, making it especially vulnerable to
times of political upheaval or war. Such currency can then become
completely worthless.
The fluctuating character of this type of currency also helps separate
society from nature. Nature requires balance in the environment to
operate properly, while currency that only represents what is supposed
to be tangible values is more easily manipulated. It is the
adjustments in currency and interest values which often create
stressful fluctuations for the ordinary consumers and for the general
mass of people. People who are most implicated in these fluctuations
are less likely to advance economically, as are those who are in
positions to claim profits from the same adjustments or manipulations
in the markets and economy. This is the difference between those
involved in the global monopoly game, which is artificially propped
up, and those that depend on real value, such as the gold standard or
genuine real estate values.
In this way, the gold-standard currency is based on falsehood because
the currency does not accurately represent the reserved gold. Because
the money value is inflated, prices on commodities rise. The only way
to reduce inflation and have an honest currency is to use that which
has intrinsic value, such as when trading something of equal value as
in bartering or using real currency like gold and silver coins. That
is an honest system.
Real prosperity flourishes on the natural gifts of nature, or God’s
gifts to us. Villages and towns and their local economy will flourish
when there is plenty of grains, vegetables, herbs, trees full of
fruits, rivers flowing with fresh and clean water, and hills full of
minerals. When this is the situation, there will be plenty for
everyone. If society has sufficient natural resources in this way,
then why should it endeavor for huge industrial complexes that require
the labor of numerous men by sending them into dark factories where
they spend their lives in exchange for inflated dollars, and then have
to pay a sizable portion of their earnings for government taxes?
Industry produces so many items that are in demand only because of the
advertising they show use to convince people that they need to
purchase the item in order to be happy. Essentially, the more society
depends on artificial necessities, the more vulnerable it becomes to
artificial crises. Thus, civilization suffers and the economy slows
whenever there is not enough oil, gas, electricity, or when the prices
of such modern commodities become too high. When there is a loss of
oil, gas, and other such necessities, or when there is an electrical
blackout, so many activities are forced to stop. So many machines and
appliances are but recent inventions, but now we have become so
dependent on them that without them we think we can no longer
function. Thus, people become trapped ever more deeply in the struggle
to earn more money to buy more things that they are convinced they
require to live happily and comfortably. In this way, they are tied
and enslaved to a system whose goal is profits rather than really
benefitting to society. In such a system, humanity loses its
sensitivity for their finer intellectual development and has neither
no time nor and no taste for any spiritual pursuits, except possibly
for the most elementary levels of moral standards.
In the natural form of economy, which is the Vedic system, the basic
principle of economic development is land and its produce. Whoever
controls land controls food. Whosoever controls food and fuel controls
the world. This is why land should always be in the hands of local
farmers, so that everything is shared and all people everyone can
prosper. Once large industrial or national complexes take it over,
such large tracts of land are no longer in the hands of a local
economy, but are controlled by large companies who have their own
concerns and plans. Then land becomes another element by which to
manipulate profits, resources, people, and even other communities and
global markets. History has also shown that such companies are often
connected with crooked politicians, or their networks that want more
and more power.
By developing the land properly for vegetable and grain production,
society can solve its eating problems. By producing enough cotton,
wood, minerals, and additional resources from the land, humanity can
work out its economic problems without depending on an artificial
economic or political system.
Those who do become wealthy by honest means can more easily
acknowledge his or her opulence as gifts from God. Thus, one’s
business, if done morally, can be a way of invoking the principle of
Dharma. Such gifts or blessings also come in the form of one’s own
intelligence and ingenuity for devising wholesome ideas and needed
products for the benefit of others, and from which one’s business will
expand. Thus, without the blessings of God in every way, we cannot
progress or be happy. All things, from wealth to , health, good birth,
beauty, good education, etc., are all examples of gifts from God.
Therefore, we all must acknowledge our gratefulness, especially those
who have become more successful. When a family or society offers such
acknowledgment, their success and happiness can increase in a balanced
and moral way.
In conclusion to this line of thinking, we must recognize that one of
the greatest forms of pollution in this world is that of competition--
competition for position, power and money. It is natural to work at
devising better ways of doing business and producing more effective
products. Whoever has what is best will more likely succeed.
Competition based on envy, jealousy, and deviousness, or simply for
more money, makes individuals and companies resort to dishonorable
means to get ahead, to get more market share, more customers, and ways
of making products more cheaply. This also adds to social stress
levels by forcing people to increasingly think increasingly in terms
of growing profits and income, while and lowering expenses. This takes
away from the peace in the world, and often adds to the pollution in
the environment by using resources in less eco-friendly ways.
Because we have forgotten our true spiritual nature, we are stressed
and crying over small and unimportant problems that have little to do
with our real identity as spiritual beings. Because such difficulties
are not connected to who we really are, they actually have little
relevancey to our spiritual nature. But because we are so attached to
our temporary and bodily identity, we are greatly affected so much by
these ephemeral and superficial troubles. This is not how we are meant
to proceed through life. We should not get entangled in such a way
manner to this illusion. It wastes our time and distracts us from the
things that matter most.
We may have made so much technological progress and have numerous
facilities added to our comforts of life, yet we can still see so many
people suffering in this world. This is primarily because money, and
people who are greedy for money, rule the world. Not everyone is
cruel, but who cannot see how the misery of many people in this world
is caused by the greediness of others? The perverted politicians and
rulers in various countries have created so much trouble that almost
all of the torment of people who are poor, starving, or even being
slaughtered or enslaved into prostitution to do the wicked bidding of
others, has been due to the unending selfishness and greed for money
and power. Do you think this is the way of a truly progressive world?
We can plainly see that it is increasingly becoming more godless and
thus more hellish. If this trend continues, society will lose its
moral values and respect for life. People will become progressively
more desperate and the world ever more lost.
A new influence must rise to purify this world from the rulership
kingdom of money, dirty politics, and a false and misguided economic
system. We must feel the influence of spiritual knowledge, for only
then can society know what is real peace and happiness, and live
together cooperatively. It is knowledge and awareness of our spiritual
identity and our connection with the Supreme Spirit that will fill our
hearts with the deep inner peace and contentment that we are looking
for. If we can progress in this way, our own happiness and peace can
spread to others. That i’s how we can become the peacemakers and help
fill society with the tranquility of such self-sufficient happiness
and contentment. Then our only concern will be how to relieve the
suffering of others. The more people reach this state of
consciousness, the more beautiful society will become beautiful and
the world will be wonderful. Then Tthe tendency for war and the
manipulation over others because of greed for money and power will
cease, and the world will live in peace. We have to be strong enough
to make such a change.
The first thing I ever learned how to cook was scrambled eggs. From that, I would always make egg sammiches. I took two pieces of extremely white bread, slathered them with ketsup and then ate ‘em up.
Well, I’m older and wiser now. I don’t eat white bread and I don’t eat eggs. So my option was one: make scrambled tofu and put it on wheat bread.
Here’s what you’ll need:
-1 package of extra firm tofu, 14oz.
-1 T “butter” (I use Earth Balance) - for fryin’
-1/2 t hing
-1/2 t black pepper
-1/2 t coriander
-1/2 t salt
-1/4 t black salt
-2 t nutritional yeast
-1 t tamari
-1/2 t turmeric
And here’s what you do:
1) Mash up tofu with a fork while you put the dab of “butter” in a skillet or wok and get it ready to fry. Med heat is fine. Here, I throw in the hing and the black pepper and fry them for a spell. Not long though.
A couple of stray thoughts…
*Thanks to Kurma dasa for the black salt idea! Black salt in very sulfuric and makes it taste a bit eggy. I may even start adding 1/2 teaspoon rather than just 1/4.
*Ok, let me grippe a bit about vegan bread. WHY does vegan break have to automatically equal small? The slices are thin and the loaves are too small and too short. What gives, vegan bread-makers? Let’s have normal-sized vegan bread. Oh, and please, no nuts in the bread, ok? Just normal bread.
Enjoy!
"Although Krsna wants everyone to surrender to His lotus feet, because of people's sinful activities they cannot do this. . . . Nevertheless, if theybegin chanting the Hare Krsna mantra and rendering service unto the tulasi plant, they will very soon be able to surrender. One's real duty is to surrender to the lotus feet of Krsna, but if one is unable to do so, he should adopt this process, as introduced by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His most confidential servant, Namacarya Srila Haridasa Thakura. This is the way to achieve success in Krsna consciousness."
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
Srila Prabhupada glorifies Vasudeva Datta as more compassionate than Jesus Christ. Here is the verse and purport from Caitanya Caritamrita (Madhya 15.163)
TRANSLATION
"My dear Lord, let me suffer perpetually in a hellish condition, accepting all the sinful reactions of all living entities. Please finish their diseased material life."
PURPORT
HH Jayapataka Swami is presently in Coimbatore. As a tireless preacher circling around the globe, Maharaja has proved that his physical ailment is not a stumbling block for his ongoing preaching activities. Maharaja said during his visit to Mayapur dham that ‘I could not speak properly but I cannot stop talking as I am addicted to preaching’. Maharaja is giving a question and answer session through the medium of internet for past one month and this will continue for another 10 days until he is in coimbatore. We request all the viewers to take this opportunity and listen to Maharaja LIVE everyday from 7.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m. here.
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 14, 2009 05:05 AM
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 14, 2009 04:02 AM
Our cow is not giving milk. We attempted to get her pregnant in October 2007, but she tricked us, showing all the signs of pregnancy except for giving birth to a calf. She apparently hasn’t gone into heat since, but I think it may happen again soon. She’s now five years old, which may be too old to have a first calf except that I think her body adjusted during this false pregnancy. So we’re protecting a cow, not getting any milk from her, and buying milk from the store. Actually she has a little udder with some very thick milk due to estrogens in the pasture, and we’re interested to find out if we can get her milk flowing even though she’s never had a calf.
A few weeks ago a discussion ensued on a popular animal rights blog wherein it was said that “There is no such thing as an ethical vegetarian.” I argued that offering milk to Krishna and honoring the remnants is ethically superior to avoiding milk, but the vegans there would not accept it, putting their faith only in the material conception of life. Talking about Krishna there was to them as if talking about the “Tooth Fairy.” Although there was another devotee present and in agreement with me, we were heavily outnumbered. It was rather upsetting because I’ve been active in the animal rights movement for about fifteen years, since a few years before I found Srila Prabhupada’s books. I was a vegan animal rights activist before trying to become a devotee of Krishna, but due to this issue I had to distance myself from that identification. It was not easy.
Whether devotees in New Zealand are avoiding milk isn’t a big issue for me. They’re on the opposite side of the world, I don’t know any of them personally, and I’m not here to tell them what I think they should do. It was probably a mistake for me to mention New Zealand in my recent blog entry. My concern is that there is an idea among some devotees that it is ethically better to abstain from milk from unprotected cows rather than offering such milk to Krishna, honoring the remnants, and doing whatever we can do to give cows protection. Devotees avoiding milk is a new idea, something that as far as I know was not taught by Srila Prabhupada, and it weakens us to have another disagreement among the Hare Krishna devotees.
The fact that I’ve been relentlessly fighting to stop meat-eating, occasionally donating to cow protection programs, and even maintaining a cow comfortably at my home, keeps me free from guilt about honoring milk offered to Krishna. Not only that, but as I understand the science of devotional service, offering Krishna the milk from unprotected cows does more for the cows than boycotting dairies does. I know I’m severely lacking in Krishna consciousness, but it’s not very difficult for me to offer heartfelt prayers on behalf of suffering cows and ask Krishna to please accept her milk. I’m pretty sure I was a suffering cow once, and it’s only due to Krishna’s mercy that I may avoid that fate again. I hope that doesn’t sound too weird.
Of course the standard of worship is that we should offer Krishna the best that can be obtained, and this means milk from protected cows if possible, but offering commercial milk is better than none at all. It also means that our offering of service to cows should be the best we can do. We must not neglect that responsibility. Hare Krishna.
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 14, 2009 03:39 AM
#0: where an individual stops supporting the dairy industry (which is based on cow slaughter) by taking only milk from protected cows (Madhava Ghosh has calculated that the cost of a gallon of milk from a protected cow is $17 [from memory], taking into account the cost of maintaining the cow over its natural life span)
#1: where an individual actively supports both the dairy industry and cow protection, for example through something like Madhava Ghosh’s GEETA program:
In this modern world, it isn’t practical for everyone to personally keep cows, but by donating to GEETA, you will in fact be caring for cows by proxy. Even if you use milk products from a store, it will be offset by contributing to protecting cows
#2 where an individual chooses to stop actively supporting the dairy industry and actively works to create a cow protection situation to produce milk.
#3: where an individual supports the dairy industry and does nothing to actively support cow protection (active = putting your money where your mouth is)
Please also see:
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 14, 2009 03:10 AM
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 14, 2009 02:49 AM
by course@ultimateselfrealization.com at May 14, 2009 02:30 AM
The original recipe from my first cookbook is simple and delicious, so I used that.
Genoa, Northern Italy, is the home of the famous Pasta Pesto alla Genovese - pasta with a pungent sauce called pesto, made primarily of fresh basil leaves, parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts.
Pine nuts are quite expensive at the moment, and the glut of cheaper Chinese pine nuts I find to have a turpentine flavour. So I decided to use half-and-half toasted unblanched almonds and toasted brazil nuts - about a scant cup in total (not all the nuts in the photo above!) - which I ground to a rough crumbly powder.
I grated 250g Grana Padano without any calf rennet (from the local kosher deli).
Three ever-so-tightly-packed cups of basil leaves (that whole bowl full above) and 2 teaspoons Himalayan salt along with a cup of extra-virgin olive oil and a scant teaspoon yellow asafetida heated in a little olive oil rounded out the recipe.
I macerated it all in my food processor, and spooned it into 3 jars. It's great on toast, stirred into hearty minestrones, or folded through pasta trenette or linguine. Oh, by the way, it freezes well.
The day after I finished making the pesto, I received a gift of first-class organic olive oil in the post. So I picked more leaves and made another batch this morning. I've got quite a stock now. Pesto ahoy!
Battlefield Bhajans Vol. 39
Dedicated to HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and all the sankritan devotees
My flight to Santiago, Chile was for the most part uneventful. When I changed flights in Capetown, South Africa; I was met with a nice young man. He kept looking over at me, and then finally came and sat next to me. He asked me why I was dressed in robes; Are you a monk? He asked. Yes, I am. What kind of monk are you? I replied I was a Hare Krsna monk. He was amazed, and stated how he just returned from China and was going to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We sat and talked for a while. He was very interested in coming and visiting the temple and maybe spending the weekend. I had one small book and a Bhagavad-Gita with me. We exchanged email addresses and I asked him if he would like a book and he said yes and asked if he could give a donation. Of course you can; and thank you very much for donating for these books. He made one comment before he went back to his seat. He said, I went to China and became attracted to monk life, but thought how could I become one and now on my flight; I see a monk and he answers my questions about God. I told him, Krsna arranges everything for us and when we come in contact with Him, He captivates our heart.
“Yet when the same jéva misuses his innate free choice and thus becomes engrossed in material activities, the merciful Çré Kåñëa is stricken by compassion and concerned about the bad fortune of the jéva. Lamenting, the Lord shadows the movement of the jéva, planning means to save him. Çré Kåñëa knows that His nectarean and immortal léläs are not available to the conditioned jéva and thus out of deep compassion, He manifests His acintya-lélä, inconceivable and wonderful pastimes, from within the material nature for the edification of the conditioned jéva. However, realizing that the jéva in his conditioned state is unable to properly comprehend His transcendental activities, Çré Kåñëa has descended to earth at Navadvépa, appearing as the most munificent incarnation, Çré Kåñëa Caitanya Mahäprabhu.” (Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura; Jaiva-Dharma)
Santiago, Chile
I arrive and went through customs with ease. I was a little worried because I heard from some devotees they are very strict. As I walked through most of the officials bowed there head a little and very respectful. The ride back to the airport was nice and I was surprised when I arrived. The temple is in the university area of Santiago. I lead bhajans for an hour and then settled in to get some rest.
This visit was very pleasant. The temple is filled with young devotees. Most are tattooed, with big holes in their ears from wearing big earrings. The first big program was on Friday. Every Friday they have Prabhupada night. The theme of the night is Srila Prabhupada. I was very pleased and gave a class about the qualities of Srila Prabhupada. We observed Guru Puja to Srila Prabhupada and this was my first taste of Chile Yatra kirtan. I lead the chanting and what can I say. Before I knew it, the whole temple was shaking. The floor felt like it was going to cave in. As the tempo and pace of the kirtan picked up, the devotees went more and more wild. There was break dancing, bodies flying all over the temple room. The drummers were playing so fast I could barely keep up. I looked up see the devotees crowd surfing and being passed around.
The next morning was the Sabado Sanga, or the Saturday Sanga. This is a nice program; a lot of youth spend the night in the temple and participate in the morning program. The morning program was again fast paced and again the devotees were losing themselves in the kirtan. At one pint there must have been over thirty devotees in the small temple room. They were dancing, smiling, laughing, clanging kartels and banging mardangas.
I was up in my room performing puja to Sri Ugra Narasimha and Sri Sri Radha Giridhari when my room started to shake. I thought of man another kirtan; but was wrong. It was an earthquake. Very surprised I just sat where I was and chanted. When it ended I was surprised, and found out it was small one. I went down to the temple room and gave class. Later in the day we went on harinam.
Harinama is perfect for the devotees in this yatra. One the mrdangs started, the devotees got right into it. They were singing so loudly, and dancing and smiling. The ladies went ahead of the harinam part to dance. We came to a populated part of town and the harinam really picked up. I was singing and noticing how many people stopped and watched and clapped. Some danced, some sang along. Devotees were giving out prasadam and talking to devotees. After one hour, I stopped the harinam and gave a short talk through a translator.
I gave a basic talk about the happiness that is experienced when one chant the Holy Name of Krsna. How when we chant Gods name, we have direct association and this life is meant for becoming the servant of God. I noticed many people nodding in agreement and some smile bright smile. It was obvious that this city is very pious. I walked back to the temple with one devotee and we discussed the day’s events.
Next day was the Sunday Feast. That meant another wild kirtan and class. I lead a bhajan and then using the same melody chanted Jaya Radha Madhava. The devotees were singing at the top of their lungs. You can tell they relish the Holy Name. The talk was of the necessity to take seriously Krishna Consciences now. How Srila Prabhupada wanted us to take this message seriously at this very moment. The devotees asked many question.
The rest of the week was met with me giving both morning and evening class. I also talked with many devotees. The traveling brahmacaris came back on Thursday night. On Friday morning I gave Srimad Bhagavatam class. We talked about King Prithu in the fourth Canto. I was describing how King Prithu gave us the perfect example of how to rule a kingdom. I then spoke how as devotees we show the world how we have the perfect answers to the problems of the world through our actions. We should become serious and become pure devotees in this. During breakfast a nice boy approached me. He asked some very nice questions. I answered all his questions and told him, so what do you want from life. He said how he had sat in my class, and the verse from the Srimad Bhagavatam made complete sense. He expressed his desire to live in the temple and take this process serious. As a joke I said ok, lets go shave your head. He smiled and said YES! YES Lets go and do that. I told the brahmacaris, and they started banging on the floor and yelling shave in Spanish. We all ran up stairs and told him to get into a towel. The bathroom is small and everyone was crowding in to see the shaving.
He asked me to be the first one to cut his hair. As I cut the hair off his head, all the devotees started yelling haribol and banging on the walls, the doors the floors. Some were hitting their plates. It was a site. Some devotees took pictures. When this boy was finished, another boy sat in the chair and said ok, shave me up also! Wow, this was nectar for the devotees. The devotees where fired up and later that day he went out on sankritan and did six books. I was so happy to hear he had a taste for book distribution. Another boy came and talked to me later that day about his desire to experience temple life. His name is Bhakta Sarathi. The devotees named him this cause, well; we look like brothers. He also decided to spend sometime in the ashram and go out on book distribution.
On Sunday I was asked to give an interview for a magazine. It was a nice interview with basic questions about the Hare Krsna movement. The person interviewing me is a devotee and a professional journalist. He asked straightforward questions from the perspective of a non-devotee of Krsna. He said the goal was to distribute five thousand of these magazines. I pray it is successful.
On my last day in Chile I was asked to give an interview to a group of university students. They asked many intelligent questions. Why do I have a ponytail with a shaved head? What is the significance of my name? What is the goal of life? I took my time and really spoke to them from the heart. The girl conducting the interview finished her questions, but her and the boy with her kept asking more questions. They wanted to know about my life and if they could also be a devotee of Krsna while going to school.
Before the interview was finished, they asked if they could come back and film me giving class at the temple and if a few devotees can come to their class on the following Friday for a program. We agreed and arranged everything. They each left with a book form Srila Prabhupada and accepted our invitation to the Sunday Feast
“So there is very good potential for spreading our movement amongst the college students, and if we simply present them with the opportunity of chanting with us, and then we lecture on Bhagavad-gita As It Is, then surely many intelligent people will become attracted. So Sankirtana Party in the streets and Sankirtana Party in school engagements should be our chief business. This will assure success in our propaganda activities.” (SP LTR 14May 1969)
“So you have to take up the sword of Kåñëa consciousness and cut the knot of material entanglement. The Kåñëa consciousness movement is spreading by teaching people how to take up this sword. I started this movement in New York in 1966. I had no actual sword, like those wielded by some religious preachers. They take their scriptures in one hand and a sword in the other and say, “Accept this scripture or I’ll cut off your head!” No, this is not the way of spreading Kåñëa consciousness. Still, I did have a sword—the sword of remembrance of Kåñëa—which I taught people to use by giving them a chance to hear about the Lord. The effect of hearing about the Lord is described in the next verse.” (SP excerpt from Dharma- Way of Transcendence)
Sadhana Report
Chanting: I have been chanting my rounds while sitting in front of Deities. Their sweet faces are a nice to see while I am trying to listen to the mantra and pronounce each word clearly. I still see some major improvement in my japa needed.
Reading: At the moment I am still reading the Srimad Bhagavad-Gita. I wanted to re-establish my relationship with the Bhagavad Gita. This time I am reading very slow and making notes of each verse. Also I am reading the conversation with Srila Prabhupada. I think it is important for my spiritual life to develop a relationship with Srila Prabhupada. If I am successful at this, then I will understand his books more deeply.
Sloka Memorization: Currently we are memorizing slokas from the Bhagavam Gita. Still the same program memorize through out the week offer on Sunday to Their Lordships.
Seva: I have been trying to develop a deep attachment to my worship. The standard is simple. Which is good for my schedule. I am always trying to improve Their worship, and will pray to always have this mood.
Book Distribution: Due to illness, I could not go out so much (plus the fact I speak no Spanish)
BG- 1
Small -3
Travel Schedule: We are making some adjustments due to some commitments.
We are blessed to have this service. There is nothing like traveling and preaching this message of Lord Caitanya. Please bless us that we can keep going till we leave this body. We are dependent on the blessings of the devotees to succeed.
Yours in the service of Srila Prabhupada,
Partha-sarathi Dasa
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 13, 2009 09:56 PM
by Bhaktimarga Swami (noreply@blogger.com) at May 13, 2009 09:53 PM
A few weeks ago, while we were in Hudson NY a CBS New film team came and hung out with us for about 8 hours. The unit was/is working on an interfaith religion special, called Faith, Music and Culture which will be broadcast Sunday, June 7, on the CBS Television Network nationwide.
CBS just put out a press release which can be read here.
May 13, 3:30 A.M.
I slept better last night and woke at 3:30 A.M., but it’s a late start and I won’t get so many rounds done. I was a little drowsy while chanting, but I kept a good speed. I chanted mostly in my mind but paid attention to the syllables of the holy name without being distracted by other things. How important it is to get a good start on the chanting, and how disappointing when you get a late start.
Japa wisdom. Of all the processes of devotional service, chanting the holy names is the best. It is taken up by the wisest persons. They may not be learned in Sanskrit or in the philosophical speculation of the Upanisads. They may not possess great yogic powers or be capable of yogic gymnastics, and they may certainly not be materially opulent or militarily powerful. But these things, which are all hard to accomplish, are of little importance in obtaining the utmost goal of human life. That goal is known as prema pumarto mahan—love of God. It is also referred to in Sanskrit as prayojana, the highest goal. Love of Krishna is the highest goal.
In different yugas, different methods of achieving it are prescribed. In Satya Yuga, when people lived for thousands of years, the prescribed method is meditation on the Lord. People lived long enough to achieve it. In Treta Yuga, the method was performance of sacrifices by learned brahmanas. In Dvapara Yuga, the method was Deity worship. For various reasons, peoples’ powers have been diminished. Their life duration has decreased, they have little money, and there are no qualified brahmanas for performing yajnas.
In the present millennium, which lasts 430,000 years, only one method of achieving God consciousness is possible. That is the chanting of the holy names of God, specifically, the mahamantra: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. It is very easy to perform. It can be done by singing (even without musical instruments) or by chanting silently on beads, at least sixteen rounds a day while avoiding offenses, such as inattention to chanting and blaspheming devotees. By chanting Hare Krishna, all of one’s previous sinful activities, and you can become liberated from birth and death. Who is such a fool that he will not take up this process of chanting Hare Krishna? The devotees of the Lord take up the mission of inducing people to chant. This makes them very dear to Krishna. But before inducing others to chant, one must chant himself under the instructions of the spiritual master. Srila Prabhupada has said that of all the instructions of the spiritual master, the instruction to chant sixteen rounds a day is essential. How about you, dear reader? Do you chant sixteen rounds? As a servant of my spiritual master and as your humble well-wisher, I beg you to do so.
5:30 A.M.
As we walked out of the townhouse, we could hear various spring birds chirpint. They are very pleasant. Much more pleasant than what we expect to find down at the beach with the seagulls. It was a sunny day at the beach. We were waiting for the first sighting of the porpoises, which shouldn’t be long. According to Sumati’s books, you might also sight a unicorn down at the beach, although they’re very rare. There were two people down by the water. A big fishing boat is making its way toward Lewes. The upper part of the beach is filled with many white benches, but they’re all empty. People have left litter in the form of half-empty cups and lunch bags. I tried to take a walk but couldn’t do more than one lap. Baladeva says it’s because I’m “shlumping,” walking with poor posture, but I think it’s my bad ankles and a weakness in my legs. I’ll try to walk with better posture. A woman is strolling with a tiny dog on a leash down by the seaside. Every once in a while she stops and picks up a seashell or stone. There are not many seagulls out this morning. They have strange habits when they are out in large numbers and when they are sparse.
I’m slow on my rounds today. I will have to make them up later. I was chanting without counting properly. It is something Baladeva says he does also. But if you don’t count them, you can’t give yourself the benefit of the doubt and say, “Oh, fifteen minutes have past. I must have chanted two rounds.” It’s frustrating, and you have to keep doing them. Nowadays, this happens partly because I have to chant in my left hand with a clicker.
It’s warming up, and it could turn into a nice day for beachcombers. The ocean is flat and calm and inviting for swimming. I’ll stay at the yellow submarine and get my japa and writing duties done. I bought some used jazz CDs yesterday, and I’m looking forward to inspiration to turn them into prose poems. I can’t do it with my writing hand, so it will be up to Krishna to give me lively ideas to speak.
8:18 A.M.
“What Is This Thing Called Love?” Is it the love of a child for its mother? Is it the love of a mother for its child? Is it the love of sweethearts? Is it crazy? Is it steady? Is it sober? Is it everlasting? Charlie Mingus Group plays it lively and strong, with optimism. There’s a brash trumpet. Love is brash. Mingus thumps his famous bass beneath it all. He’s the steady heart of love. But what is this thing called love? It’s the thing that Krishna pours upon all the living entities. It’s the thing He wants back from them. It’s affection, dearmost feelings. It’s loyalty. It’s fearlessness. It’s the sweetest thing in the world. They ask what it is because it’s such a puzzle. Love in the material world is flickering, cancala. Sometimes it’s there, and sometimes it’s not. The girl gets peeved at some affront she thinks the man has committed. The man gets jealous when he sees her talking to another guy. So they really don’t know what it is. They know it’s a most wonderful thing, but they can’t figure it out because it’s so up and down, so come and go. But with Krishna’s love, you can understand it a little bit more. It’s steady and everlasting, and it grows, like an ocean that expands. Love and lust are two different things. the thing we call love in the material world is actually selfish sense gratification. In the spiritual world, it’s actually feeling for the other person, wanting the other person to be happy, wanting to please them, and that’s the big difference. It’s like the difference between iron and goal. But even in the material world, it’s enchanting. It’s like black magic. It makes people very happy for the time being. It’s like spring birds and spring flowers. It brings joy. It’s the greatest illusion, but at least it’s great.
“Spur of the Moment.” You can’t wait. It has to start right away, like a rodeo horse let out of the pen. That’s jazz. No time to compose. Exchanges in life are like that, too. Sometimes you have to speak without thinking. You have to act without preparation. Do you I love you? Show it. Don’t rehearse it. The curtain is always up. There’s no time for preparation. It’s happening now, and you’re on. Your talent (or lack of talent) will show. It may not be the smoothest thing, but it’s who you are. It’s exciting to act this way. You just spring into action. No stuffed-shirt reading from a manuscript. Tell us what you really think. Act it out with sincerity. Walking down a street in a happy mood. Something suddenly happens—a car comes from the side street, a mugger springs on you. Or something pleasant. You suddenly see the girl who is the apple of your eye.
“Yesterdays.” This is a ballad, Charlie Mingus bows deeply on his bass, thinking of yesterdays. The reminiscence of what it was like. You think it was very sad, and you were very poor, and there was no happiness. But maybe it wasn’t like that. You can’t exactly recall yesterdays. They’re gone. But they’re there in somehow tender memories, bittersweet. All that water under the bridge. You used to take walks in Ireland, gingerly stepping along the paths, stopping by the bridge and looking down into the waterfalls and the rapid rivers. It was so wonderful. It’s all over now. And your close friendships with friends there. They encouraged you in your free writing, said it was the best thing. You liked to give lectures on Sundays, and prepared for it and gave good ones. I don’t remember now what it was like exactly, but I know it’s not here now. It was yesterday. Yesterdays. The yesterdays are kept steady on the beat of Charlie Mingus’ double bass. Thump thump thump thump. It’s like seeing the movie again, but it’s new. It’s kept alive by his beat. Oh yes, now I remember that part. I recall that scene. It was all yesterday. Please help me remember more of it, because I think it’s important to be who you used to be. It can never come back. It’s lost in time. You were younger. You really can’t remember. All that time in the past. Little flashes come to you still. Sometimes in dreams, it comes mixed up with other pasts. All the yesterdays accumulated. You used to love me. You used to. I think you still do, and I still love you. There’s that bowing of the bass again. So mournful because it’s gone now. And yet the feeling is still alive. The love is still present, except everything is changed. Yesterdays are gone for good. You play a mournful horn to recollect something like it. Not exactly a memory, but a feeling of how you’d like it to be and how you wish it was. It’s melancholic because it’s gone, but it’s sweet, too, because you actually lived it, and you can taste it still. Some of those yesterdays were very hard, very hard times. But some of them were happy, the happiest days of your life. And where are you now? You’re in the present, so put the yesterdays aside.
“The Sound of Love.” Did you ever think that love had a sound? It’s in the sound of sweet music. Best tunes are sounds of love. They can be played in the present, and they exist now. The sound of love is embracing and feeling love right now. The sound of love is music. The sound of love is you talking to me and me talking to you in affection, laughing together, having a good time. The sound of love is Hare Krishna when it’s chanted with emotion and devotion. The sound of love is Krishna’s words when He says, “Bow down to Me, offer homage to Me, and you will come to Me.” Those promises of Krishna are sounds of love. The sound of love is sweet and tender. It’s not fighting, raucous voices. The sound of love is tender. It’s confidential words, and sometimes just whispers. Words that don’t really mean so much but are just spoken in the ear, the way the cowherd boys sometimes talk to Krishna with not much meaning but lots of bliss. The sound of love is blissful, although not always coherent. The sound of love is full of emotion and loveliness. It’s a beautiful band, the Charlie Mingus Group.
“It Might As Well Be Spring.” This is a well-known tune beloved by music lovers. It means that the season might not actually be spring, but we’re so much in love that it might as well be the best season. I don’t hear a nightingale, I don’t see the flowers growing, but I’m feeling so good with you that it might as well be spring. Such a nice sentiment. When it’s winter, we feel bad. It’s so cold and bitter. But if you’re in love at that time, it might as well be spring. When you’re having a good time, it might as well be the best time of the year, because I feel so gay in a melancholic way that it might as well be spring. Yes, it might as well be spring. And this is not only a melody but an improvisation. Feeling good comes spontaneously, not just as a written script. You play together in the park. You walk and hold hands. You may not have much money and you may not be a great devotee, but you’re feeling some love for Krishna, so it might as well be spring. It might as well be bhakti. You’re feeling something good for Him. It may not count as prema-bhakti, but it might as well be love for the Lord, because you’ve got the insight, you’ve got the spark, you’ve got the beginning feeling, and all it takes now is ripening, like an unripe mango that becomes ripe. Don’t count it as nothing. Give it credit. It’s a starting place. It might as well be bhakti because you’re feeling it. So what if you’re a beginner? It’s the same thing as when you become mature. It’s a delightful feeling, even when you’re at the beginning. Because I feel so gay in a melancholic way that it might as well be spring. Yes, it might as well be spring. It might as well be love.
11:30 A.M.
I want to pray to You today just like that little boy is praying in the picture on my desk. There are his folded palms, and he’s kneeling down, looking up to You in the sky. He’s in a dark room. He has long, curly hair. Some people see the picture and think that the person is a girl, but I think it is a boy. He’s looking up to You for protection. He’s a very sweet devotee, but very young. And I suppose very innocent. He is very pious and faithful. He looks a bit fearful. That is why I say he is praying to you for protection. Little children are sometimes afraid that they are surrounded by ghosts and monsters. He is praying for the protection of his parents and his loved ones and for his own self. I am praying to You like him today. I’m looking upward to You with awe and reverence.
I know awe and reverence are not the topmost form of worship of Your Lordship. You like friendliness and affection. But this boy has plenty of affection for You also. It is just that he is so young, he is overwhelmed with Your beauty and with Your nearness to him. I believe he sees You. He reminds me of Dhruva Maharaja, who was meditating on You in his strict austerities, and then suddenly his meditation broke and he received the saksad darsana, or direct vision of You, before him in Your beautiful form as Visnu. This boy is praying to You and seeing You and is deeply impressed.
I am an old man. I do not pray on my knees in my nightshirt with soft hands clasped together. I do not have long, wavy hair. I don’t have that look in my eye of full faith and surrender. But I do pray to You in a similar mood. I give You my all in these times when I speak to You. I write with a pencil, and I feel very close to You as I draw the lines of handwriting across the page. Now I have to dictate. The results are nice, speaking directly to You. What is it I want to say?
I know the ideal prayer I should make. I should pray, “Please let me serve You, Radha and Krishna.” I want to worship You in Vraja. I want to be immersed in Your pastimes as Radha and Krishna, the Beloved Couple. I want to enter those pastimes ultimately. I want to assist You in Your pastimes. I don’t want to ask You for protection, as perhaps this boy is asking. I don’t want to be distant in awe and reverence. I want to do my duties as an assistant to You and very intimately perform my service, even as You perform Your loving pastimes. I want to say I would like to be a gopi manjari, but I cannot say that from the heart. It is just a theoretical ideal. I just have to pray to You like this boy does, with full faith and devotion and seeking protection. So this is the first step. I want to go on to further steps until I am intimate with You and not embarrassed to come into Your company as You are engaged in Your pastimes. First, however, I have to remove the bad things in my heart, the self-serving, the self-motivation, the false ego, even the materialistic desires that are in my unconsciousness.
I see the spark of this Vrajavasi in this slightly chubby boy who is praying to a God we cannot see because He is not visible in this picture. All we see is the upper darkness of the room in which the boy is praying. But I have faith that he is seeing You, Syamasundara. He is praying to become Your devotee in a future time, as soon as possible.
I believe he is not looking to You in a very distant way. You are almost with him in the room. He is overwhelmed with Your beauty. He is just in a moment in his life or a stage in his life when he needs Your full mercy. After all, he is very young.
I do not compare myself to this boy, but I like him very much. I would like to be able to kneel beside him and pray in a similar mood, looking up to You as You hold Govardhana Hill, hoping everything will turn out all right. He does not doubt You. He is a little fearful.
And so I model my prayer over the picture of the boy making his prayers in my portrait. But I am not that boy. I am Prabhupada’s boy, now sixty-nine years old, but with a boyish spirit, praying to him innocently. I have many scars, and I have weathered many difficulties in my many years practicing Krishna consciousness. But I maintain the youthful innocence when I pray to You. I can claim that. Please let your “boy” stay close to You, please give him protection, and more than anything else, stay with him always and grant him Your intimacy. He wishes to serve You, but he is at such a young age that he does not exactly know what he can do except to pray to You. As for me, I am more beat up and haggard. If there were a picture of me, it would look more like the picture of the blind person who looks very old but is praying to You in a similar way. Toothless and bent over and shaking with old age the way Krsnadasa Kaviraja says he shakes, I make my prayer before You with the heart of a young child. Is this true? Is this possible? In this somewhat allegorical, imaginary prayer, I wish it to be so. I wish to stay at Your lotus feet without ever leaving.
the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #70→
SB 2.9.10 lecture -- Tokyo, April 26, 1972
The following is a Evening talk given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 12 May 2009 at Hillsborough, USA.
To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”
The following is a Evening talk given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 12 May 2009 at Hillsborough, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo;
by Vrndavana Vinodini dd (noreply@blogger.com) at May 13, 2009 06:58 PM
I recently watched a rather dramatic video with dire warnings (to whom exactly I’m not sure, probably Caucasian Christians) about the upcoming muslim take over of Europe. And, no, the takeover is not by armies or terrorist attacks – but by babies!
The video points out that native Europeans are dying off. The average fertility rate (that’s the number of children per woman) for the European Union (according to the CIA) is only 1.51, far below the 2.11 replacement value (that’s the value necessary just to maintain the current population). They claim, however, that Muslim immigration and the far larger Muslim community fertility rate, is radically increasing the percentage of Europeans who are Muslims. They say that 50% of all babies born in Belgium are Muslims. And that by 2050 Germany will be a Muslim majority state.
I became interested in the subject and watched another alarmist documentary, called “Demographic Winter – The Decline of the Human Family”. This 50 minute documentary points out that humanity is dying off, with decreasing fertility rates worldwide, independent of race, religion and continent. This documentary points out the following major factors for this:
1) Increasing participation of women at the workplace, which leads them not to have time to have babies, as well as increasing the “cost” of interupting their carreers to have babies.
2) The sexual revolution, which makes sex come easy and with less and less strings attached.
3) The “divorce revolution”, infusing all marriages with a high degree of uncertainty, thus providing a negative stimulus for having children.
4) Prosperity. Men and women increasingly get married later in life, mostly because they are busy trying to become prosperous, thus having less time to have children. The current economic model of the world makes children an economic burden.
5) Innacurate Assumptions: a) Most of us still think that the world is threatened by a population explosion, when actually it’s just the opposite. The population of the world vastly increased only because longevity increased. But the current fertility rate for the world is below replacement values. b) The idea that less population is economically better is not true – statistics show that countries with the greatest decreases in population (Spain, Russia and Japan, for example) are having acute economic troubles. Increased populations actually promote economic growth and cheaper food prices.
The documentary suggests that the solution to the fertility rate crisis is to revert to a more paternalist society where women are again more dedicated to taking care of the home and children. They also stress the importance of strengthening the institution of marriage.
All this made me think how carefully planned human society is. Krishna (through the Vedas and other scriptures), so carefully laid out the fundamental rules for a healthy society – the rules for the different varnas, the roles of men and women, the different ashrams, etc. Our attempts to rewrite the rules and traditions, especially in the last 100 years, are leading to massive chaos on so many levels. We are now literally dying off. I’m increasingly aware of how this current lifestyle we have come to consider “normal” is but an artificial bubble which is wreaking ecological havoc and encouraging unsustainable human behavior. I reckon that those of us who will live 50 years or more will see a world culture with more emphasis on religion and traditional values, as well as a much more sustainable, more agrarian and local, economic model.
To end of on a lighter note, I’ll leave you with Dilbert’s take on the death of capitalism:
By Chris Mason
BBC News, Ghent
The Belgian city of Ghent is about to become the first in the world to go vegetarian at least once a week.
Starting this week there will be a regular weekly meatless day, in which civil servants and elected councillors will opt for vegetarian meals.
Ghent means to recognise the impact of livestock on the environment.
The UN says livestock is responsible for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, hence Ghent’s declaration of a weekly “veggie day”.
Public officials and politicians will be the first to give up meat for a day.
Schoolchildren will follow suit with their own veggiedag in September.
It is hoped the move will cut Ghent’s environmental footprint and help tackle obesity.
Around 90,000 so-called “veggie street maps” are now being printed to help people find the city’s vegetarian eateries.
Germany was good. Well, the Narasimha Festival was good, great even, attracting around 350 devotees from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. And a few hardy souls from the British Isles.
This year I took my son Mali, 12, and he enjoyed it very much. It rained most of the time, so we felt quite at home there, and Mali got up early every morning and stoically fasted all day on the caturdasi. And he wore his white cotton dhoti most of the time, thereby scoring maximum points on the pilgrim-ometer.
Mali hasn’t been on a plane very much at all since he was a baby, so for him to be flying above the clouds was a real novelty. He was fascinated and thrilled by it. He said he couldn’t remember our family trip to India, but it was when he was four, so no surprise. The thrill of flying will, I expect, be linked in his mind with travelling to a religious festival which can only be a good thing. When doing things for spiritual progress is made fun, such things get done again and again, and that’s good for the soul. It’s specially important for children that religion is fun. Parents have to practise the Mary Poppins Principle:
For every job that must be done, there is an element of fun, you find the fun and…SNAP!…the job’s a game! (Cue Julie Andrews singing Spoonful of Sugar)
Not that religion is a job, but it’s not always children’s idea of fun either.
However, on the Vaishnava path I would venture to say that if you approach it in the right way, it’s all fun – even the physically challenging stuff like fasting. Srila Prabhupada said that Krishna consciousness was ‘recreation’ since most of the time it simply involves singing, dancing, feasting, theatre, painting – and a little philosophy from time to time.
That’s why I can confidently take my 12 year-old to a major religious event knowing full well that he’ll have a good time. Highlights for him were a childrens play about Nrsimhadeva all spoken in German (something new for him), the 3 hours long abhisheka (ceremonial bathing of the Deity) which featured some items that made him smile – such as the Deity being completely covered in bananas!
Another highlight – curiously enough – was the four hours that father and son took to make up just a small dish of sandalwood paste. We sat peacefully together in a small room surrounded by small household deities of Narasimha and countless shaligram-shilas brought there by what seemed like all of Germany’s brahmanas. Taking a piece of sandalwood about eight inches long (or whatever the German metric equivalent is) and rubbing it on a large, flat circular stone, adding rosewater, camphor crystals and saffron, was a task guaranteed to help a person experience eternity. Only a few drops of precious sandal paste was created after many minutes of rubbing.
Yet far from being a hellish torment, this was devotional service, bhakti, and we both knew that this fragrant yellowish paste was going to applied to the black body of Narasimha the following day. And that somehow, by this simple act of devotion, God might be pleased. Certainly father and son came out of that small room smiling.
And we smiled the next day when we sang in kirtan and Dad tried to jump around like the twenty-somethings, and we smiled when Dad got splashed all over with bright yellow turmeric water while bathing the Lord on the altar. And then we smiled on the last day when the sun finally shone but it was time to come home. We might have missed that evening’s torchlight procession with fireworks but it was more than enough fun for four days.
My grateful thanks to Gail Staveacre of UK and Manoj Kumar of Australia for kindly sponsoring a portion of the abhisheka.
Here are some pictures:
The evening before the main festival, the Deity’s body is covered with 108 coloured silken ropes. This is known as Pavitra-Puja
Yellow turmeric, a leafy garland of forest flowers, lemons, and garlands of German doughnuts
The ‘Butter Outfit’ with dried fruit decorations: figs, dates, prunes, and apricots
by Gauranga Kishore Das (gaurangakishore@gmail.com) at May 13, 2009 04:46 PM
Marian, a Columbus temple devotee who recently moved to Athens, Oh, has left her body due to the effects of a car crash. She was returning to Athens from New Vrindaban following the Festival of Inspiration. The crash occurred outside of Marietta, OH on Rt. 7 and Marian was not responsive at the scene.
She was airlifted from the hospital in Marietta to Grant Memorial in Columbus and, by Krishna’s inconceivable arrangement, Lalita devi dasi, wife of Dr. Pyuish Gupta, is doing her residency at Grant and was able to be at her side in the trauma and operation centers. She administered tulasi leaves, Radha Kunde water, and chanted the Maha Mantra, along with playing a tape of Srila Prabhupada. Even more amazing, her parents agreed to cremation and allowing Sri Kishore das (her fiance) to bring her ashes to Vrindavan.
Marian served Radha Natabar for several years in Columbus. As her last service before relocating to Athens, she was manager of the Food Pantry.
On the final day of her life, she was very happily engaged in Krishna’s service along with the three other Athens’ young ladies, doing Kitchen clean up and transfers as their Festival seva. They were all exuberant upon departure, promising to return for the 24-Hour Kirtan in June as well as making plans to come back and serve the FOI ‘10.
When I made the announcement in the temple to the assembled devotees this morning, Vrindaban Chandra dropped His flute when I said her name.
Dr. Hopkins: “If someone was going to collect a very small section of your work, say one or two verses, what would you want them to collect?”
“That is stated in two verses,” Prabhupada replied. “Dharmasya hy apavargasya…” And he had the translation read: “All occupational engagements, dharmas, are certainly meant for ultimate liberation. They should never be performed for material gain. Furthermore, one who is engaged in the ultimate occupational service, dharma, should never use material gain to cultivate sense gratification.”
Prabhupada had the purport read, and he expanded on it further, explaining how people are only after material gain, neglecting the real purpose of life.
Dr. Hopkins: “Do you think, then, that this message is the most important message that you have to convey?”
Prabhupada: “That is the most important message, because you are not this material body. Suppose you have got this shirt. So if you simply try to maintain this shirt, is that a very good intelligence? Without taking care of your person? Similarly, we are spirit soul, and the body is just like dress. So in the whole material world everyone is engaged to take care of the body. Nobody knows what is spirit soul, what is his need.”
(from Srila Prabhupada lilamrta)
On the occasion of NrSimh Jayanti celebrations combined with Sunday Love Feast, Superior Court Justice Kenneth Mangum of Maricopa County paid his second visit to Hare Krishna temple in Phoenix.
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:20 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:15 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:14 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:11 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:09 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:07 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 01:05 PM
by letters (wmdean@btopenworld.com) at May 13, 2009 12:57 PM
MGCA (Matchless Gifts Conscious Arts)!!
“One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well.
“PURPORT
“The word atma denotes body, mind and soul — depending upon different circumstances. In the yoga system, the mind and the conditioned soul are especially important. Since the mind is the central point of yoga practice, atma refers here to the mind. The purpose of the yoga system is to control the mind and to draw it away from attachment to sense objects.
“It is stressed herein that the mind must be so trained that it can deliver the conditioned soul from the mire of nescience. In material existence one is subjected to the influence of the mind and the senses. In fact, the pure soul is entangled in the material world because the mind is involved with the false ego, which desires to lord it over material nature. Therefore, the mind should be trained so that it will not be attracted by the glitter of material nature, and in this way the conditioned soul may be saved.”
Bhagavad Gita 6.5
“We must be saved from immersion in the sea of lies and passions which is called “the world.” And we must be saved above all from that abyss of confusion and absurdity which is our own worldly self. The person must be rescued from the individual.
“The free son and daughter of God must be saved from the conformist slavery of fantasy, passion and convention. The creative and mysterious inner self must be delivered from the wasteful, hedonistic and destructive ego that seeks only to cover itself in disguises.”
Thomas Merton. New Seeds of Contemplation (New York: New Directions Press, 1961):38.
Posted in Thomas Merton
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:
by Rasa Rasika (noreply@blogger.com) at May 13, 2009 11:12 AM
Due to technical dificulties we were unable to record our live broadcast of the Sunday Feast and so we are unable to post a recording this week. We apologize for any inconvenience.
I had to travel to Coimbatore India from Secunderabad to meet my parents over the weekend. I had to travel by plane due to last minute decision, but still I packed a hand baggage with my cloths and another carry-on with books.
After finishing the formalities at the airport counter, I was left with about 40 minutes for Hari Nama Sankirtan. I approached a lady explained Bagavad Gita but she was not interested. I moved away looking for other travelers but was headed in the direction wherein the waiting areas were empty. When I traced back the way the same lady helped me by pointing in the direction where more people were waiting. I showed her the Ramayana one more time and showed her all the pictures. She was still not interested but then I quoted the verse from BG (2.40) "Neha ..." and explained her why she should keep these books with her all the time. She quickly decided to buy Ramayana.
As I moved away to another area, I approached a person working on his laptop drinking coffee. Quickly he said he already has BG but when I showed him Ramayana, he could not resist any further and decided to buy.
The next 30 odd minutes was a big struggle to distribute even a single book and I heard the announcement for the last and final call for boarding. I decided to give one last attempt and went around the waiting lounge (pretty much the same place where I had tried in vain just few minutes back). I suddenly noticed someone was taking pictures with "some celebrity" (I thought) and just waited for the photo session to complete and approached the persons with Bagavad Gita. First I showed the pocket size Bagavad Gita, explaining the need to propagate this message all over the world, and asked him to donate some money to cover the printing and binding cost. Immediately the man (celebrity) opened his wallet and gave Rs. 1000 and said that he is taking this copy even though he already has another copy with him. All along this time I was hearing the airline staff announcing the final boarding call for myself and another person.
I rushed to the gate and boarded the bus ready to take just the two of us to the plane. The other person (who was late for boarding) entered the bus behind me and I showed him Bagavad Gita. He looked at it and said he will take the book after he gets down from the plane in Coimbatore. Indeed he took the book at Coimbatore airport but he also did not have the change for the book and had only Rs. 1000.00. It was around 9.00 PM and I was struggling to find the change since I only had 650.00 in change and then he asked me what else do you have and readily took the telugu Ramayana for the remainder of the money.
On my return flight back to Hyderabad, the only person who took the Bagavad Gita said he was an atheist but still he wants to learn from this book in any case.
I have heard many senior devotees sharing their book distribution realizations, that never to leave a stone unturned when it comes to distributing Srila Prabhupada's books. However this is the first time that I personally experienced and realized the need for me to put all my efforts and take no chances by ignoring people on face value or give up too soon when it comes to distributing books for Guru's, Srila Prabhupada's and Lord Krishna's pleasure. The nectar of Lord Krishna's, Srila Prabhupada's and Guru's reciprocations are inconceivable, so much so, that I realized my 2 hands are not sufficient to hold and receive all that mercy.
your humble servant, Sridhara Srinivasa das
The dates for our Eco Yoga retreat have changed!
We’ve now going out on the weekend the the 22-23-24th of May and no worries, there are still heaters in every rooms and in the main yoga room, there’s a big fireplace to keep you nice and cozy!
Please book by calling us at the Loft: 379-7301
I had to travel to Coimbatore India from Secunderabad to meet my parents over the weekend. I had to travel by plane due to last minute decision, but still I packed a hand baggage with my cloths and another carry-on with books.
After finishing the formalities at the airport counter, I was left with about 40 minutes for Hari Nama Sankirtan. I approached a lady explained Bagavad Gita but she was not interested. I moved away looking for other travelers but was headed in the direction wherein the waiting areas were empty. When I traced back the way the same lady helped me by pointing in the direction where more people were waiting. I showed her the Ramayana one more time and showed her all the pictures. She was still not interested but then I quoted the verse from BG (2.40) "Neha ..." and explained her why she should keep these books with her all the time. She quickly decided to buy Ramayana.
As I moved away to another area, I approached a person working on his laptop drinking coffee. Quickly he said he already has BG but when I showed him Ramayana, he could not resist any further and decided to buy.
The next 30 odd minutes was a big struggle to distribute even a single book and I heard the announcement for the last and final call for boarding. I decided to give one last attempt and went around the waiting lounge (pretty much the same place where I had tried in vain just few minutes back). I suddenly noticed someone was taking pictures with "some celebrity" (I thought) and just waited for the photo session to complete and approached the persons with Bagavad Gita. First I showed the pocket size Bagavad Gita, explaining the need to propagate this message all over the world, and asked him to donate some money to cover the printing and binding cost. Immediately the man (celebrity) opened his wallet and gave Rs. 1000 and said that he is taking this copy even though he already has another copy with him. All along this time I was hearing the airline staff announcing the final boarding call for myself and another person.
I rushed to the gate and boarded the bus ready to take just the two of us to the plane. The other person (who was late for boarding) entered the bus behind me and I showed him Bagavad Gita. He looked at it and said he will take the book after he gets down from the plane in Coimbatore. Indeed he took the book at Coimbatore airport but he also did not have the change for the book and had only Rs. 1000.00. It was around 9.00 PM and I was struggling to find the change since I only had 650.00 in change and then he asked me what else do you have and readily took the telugu Ramayana for the remainder of the money.
On my return flight back to Hyderabad, the only person who took the Bagavad Gita said he was an atheist but still he wants to learn from this book in any case.
I have heard many senior devotees sharing their book distribution realizations, that never to leave a stone unturned when it comes to distributing Srila Prabhupada's books. However this is the first time that I personally experienced and realized the need for me to put all my efforts and take no chances by ignoring people on face value or give up too soon when it comes to distributing books for Guru's, Srila Prabhupada's and Lord Krishna's pleasure. The nectar of Lord Krishna's, Srila Prabhupada's and Guru's reciprocations are inconceivable, so much so, that I realized my 2 hands are not sufficient to hold and receive all that mercy.
your humble servant, Sridhara Srinivasa das
In Mayapur, on 4 October 1974, Srila Prabhupada said: "Canakya Pandita says, matrvat para-daresu: 'Any woman who is not your wife, she should be treated as your mother.' This is moral instruction. Matrvat. At the present moment, they have invented the word bahinaji, 'sister.' No. In the Vedic culture, there is no such thing as 'sister.' 'Mother,' that is Vedic culture. Because mother is always respected, so any woman, if she is called 'Mother...' The brahmacari would go to the householder's house and address the ladies, 'Mother.
Thursday May 14th sees the worldwide release of Gaura Vani & As Kindred Spirits' [website] new album "Ten Million Moons".
I've been listening to my pre-release copy for a couple of weeks now, and thought I'd take some time to write a brief review.
First of all my congratulations to Gaura and the crew for this release. I have to admit that in some inconceivable fashion I was simultaneously and spectacularly under- and over-whelmed by their first release, Nectar of Devotion. If I had to select a single characterization for that album it would be "inconsistent".
Nectar of Devotion had some stunningly outstanding tracks - the deeply emotional Je Anilo Prema Dhana and Vaisnava Thakura come to mind. It also had some "wtf?" moments, like Gurudev, and the seemingly tacked-on Maha-mantra (Live Recording).
I kept my mixed opinion of Nectar of Devotion to myself until after I heard Ten Million Moons, at which time I shared it with Param Satya, my wife. She came back with: "that was an album? I thought it was a random bunch of songs you'd thrown together in a play list!", which pretty much sums it up.
With Ten Million Moons Gaura Vani and As Kindred Spirits are beginning to hit their stride. I'm not afraid to share my mixed opinion of the first album now and to say that this new album is light-years ahead of it, a shining testament to the hard work and dedication of the group.
The new album still generates moments of disorientation - am I listening to the same group or is it a mixed playlist? However, the production values are consistent, and there are no "say what?" moments on this album - each song could stand on its own. It's the wide variation in style and instrumentation (especially lead vocals) that causes the album to diversify beyond the standard range of an album from a "single artist". But in those moments the album is almost like a party at Gaura's place with everyone taking turns to lead kirtan with him encouraging them from the side. There's the same blend of traditional Vaisnava bhajan, reflecting the cultural and spiritual tradition that Gaura and the guys are coming from; and more of the group's developing "voice", a take that reflects the contemporary American urban environment.
It's this developing voice that is most interesting to me. On Nectar of Devotion it felt a little forced, almost like an arbitrary attempt to do something, anything, different from the traditional bhajan formula. On this album they are starting to integrate other musical traditions and elements and develop a unique take on Gaudiya Vaisnava bhajan. That's exciting.
The production values are high - clearly a lot of hard work has gone into crafting this offering. The album was engineered in part by Ben Leinbach [website], multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and a familiar name in the US kirtan/yoga scene. It has a lot of bottom end for my taste - perhaps an attempt to make it sound heavy and full. I would have rolled off some of the bottom end during mastering myself. I A/B tested it on my studio monitors with the new Guns N'Roses album Chinese Democracy and Moons definitely has a lot more bass. Playing it through the dining room stereo system (Altec Lansing speakers with sub-woofers) it needed some EQ to be listenable, and it definitely wasn't background music for dinner, filling the entire sonic spectrum.
It's a big sound, with a lot of instrumentation, and one that demands and rewards careful listening. There are virtuoso performances galore with guest appearances by a number of names in the kirtan scene, including soul singer C.C. White, Visvambhara, who contributes some Indian vocal percussion, and some sarod playing that sounds like it could be Jai Uttal. The star-studded lineup is a testament to Gaura Vani's personal expansiveness.
I played a couple of nights with Dave Stringer and his percussionist Patrick Richie here in Australia earlier this year. After the first night Patrick gave me the Gauravani.com Kirtan t-shirt that Gaura Vani gave him when they played together at the Chant for Change concert in DC. It's a big shirt - too big to fit me, but it hangs in my studio where I look at it each day. Gaura's obviously a big guy, and he has a big heart, one that is evident in the community that he has created around this album.
Gaura Vani's heart comes through in his vocal performances on this album too. The stand-out tracks for me on Nectar of Devotion were ones where he just laid it bare, and there are tracks on Ten Million Moons where he again pours his soul onto vinyl. When I first heard him sing the refrain: "Hare nama eva kevalam" on the second track of the album, Moods of Kirtan (Siksastakam), the hairs on my body stood on end and I knew that they had nailed it with this release.
The voice of Acyuta Gopi, the other principle vocalist in the group, has changed from the first time I heard it - it has a fuller body and more confidence. In a sense it embodies the character of the group that is really starting to gel with this album - it's steeped in the cultural and musical tradition of India, and at the same time fully American. The naming of the tracks on the album, with an English name followed by the Sanskrit source, reflects this simultaneity.
The most exciting thing for me about this album is the progressive discovery and development of a unique voice in contemporary kirtan, one solidly connected with the tradition of the past, and at the same time retransmitting that tradition in the light (and sound) of today.
For me, coming from the same spiritual tradition, the lyrical content is familiar and beloved, while the arrangements are fresh and unique - different not simply to be different, but different because they come from a unique group of people discovering their unique collective voice.
I am eagerly awaiting the next installment, and I urge you all to get a copy of Ten Million Moons.
Track Listing:
Ten Million Moons is released on Thursday May 14, and is available from Gaura Vani's website.
[I left this comment on Pandu's blog. Pandu das is not simply a theoretical advocate of cow protection, but is actively involved in protecting cows at his home.]
Pandu prabhu, I'm sorry for coming across so hard and heavy.
It's not meant to be an attack on you, any more than your discussion of the idea of veganism is meant to be an attack on the devotees in New Zealand. I'm sorry for coming across that way.
Kurma das has written his article in a particular style to support his particular agenda. By referencing the content of it and spring boarding from it to your discussion of the idea of veganism your post reinforces his presentation. It implicitly accepts what he says as a fact, although he lacks first hand knowledge, and much of what he says is his interpretation.
My theme of "Get your facts straight and then have an opinion" is not solely directed at you, but rather at everyone who has commented further on what he has to say, but without taking the trouble to verify it, or to state: "Kurma das said... (but I don't know personally what the facts of the matter are)".
Lots of people just pick up the ball and run with it - not simply on this issue, but every post on Sampradaya Sun that talks about what other people are doing, but without verification. I read things on there all the time and say: "Well, who knows what the actual situation is..." and reserve judgment. I watch as people pile on and talk it up, accepting unquestioning whatever was said before, with no evidence or discussion, including interpretations of people's motives.
It's a wider issue of an ongoing failure of epistemology and intellectual honesty.
In this case I do happen to know more about the situation, and I think it's intellectually dishonest to publish like that, or to propagate it further.
As far as milk and cow protection goes, I think that H.H. Hrdayananda das Goswami described it best when he laid out the valid arguments on both sides (Milk - to drink or not to drink?) and stated that Vedic culture has room for both, and that's it's ultimately a question of individual conscience.
The factual error that you're either picked up or introduced in the opening sentence of your post is that devotees in NZ no longer offer milk to Krishna. That's not correct. They have not subscribed to a vegan ideology, but rather have taken the stance that they will only offer guests milk from protected cows.
As far as the post you cited from theloft.org.nz that says "we embrace veganism", it's written for the general public, and it means that vegan people can comfortably come and take prasadam there. At our house we frequently prepare dishes that are dairy-free, sugar-free, salt-free, or wheat-free for people who do not have these things for either health or ethical reasons. There are no barriers to Krishna prasadam, and we should prepare and offer things that are acceptable to Krishna so that everyone can partake.
The various perspectives on how to approach the situation of lack of cow protection is a good topic for discussion.
Personally we use commercial milk at home to prepare prasadam and also regularly serve it to guests. There is no milk available from cow protection here, nor do we have the resources or commitment to make it happen in the near future, unlike the NZ devotees.
Please accept my apologies for being overbearing.
by course@ultimateselfrealization.com at May 13, 2009 02:30 AM
As a technical writer I am sensitive to use of the passive voice. Technical documents benefit from the clarity of the active voice.
As a hiring manager who reviews writing samples and tests on a regular basis I see that academic institutions regularly instill the passive voice as a writing style in students.
Passive vs Active Voice
Here's an example that demonstrates the difference between passive and active voice:
Passive voice:
Y was done.
Active Voice:
X did Y.
In the active voice someone does something. In the passive voice something is done.
Last year I visited a friend in NZ who is doing his PhD in psychology. He showed me his thesis. I immediately noticed the prevalence of the passive voice (I can't even remember what it said, just how it was written).
I mentioned that to him, and he explained that his academic instructors preferred passive voice because it was "less subjective".
I thought about that for some time afterwards, and came to the realization that the passive voice is not "less subjective". It is just as subjective as active voice, only it hides that subjectivity by concealing the identity of the subjective agent.
In the passive voice, using our example above, emphasis is placed on the "Y", without the caveat of X's involvement.
Hidden Subjectivity
Consider how the following examples use the passive voice construction to hide the subjectivity:
John said that Mary did X
vs
It is said that Mary did X
In this case the first, active voiced version immediately calls to mind questions such as: "How does John know?" "Is John a credible source?". These questions relate to the epistemology of the statement - or "how we know something". The second, passive voiced version glides past the subjectivity of the source and focuses squarely on what they had to say, without revealing who they are.
Illusory Objectivity
Illusory objectivity is achieved by repeating a passive voice statement, only this time in the active voice.
It is said that Mary did X
becomes:
Mary did X
So we go from:
John said that Mary did X
(which is really a statement about John, as much as it is about Mary)
to
It is said that Mary did X
(which puts the focus on Mary and hides the subjectivity)
to
Mary did X
(which uses the active voice to present illusory objectivity)
Another example would be:
It has come to my attention that....X
In this passive voice construction the source of the information X is hidden.
As such there is no way to assess the credibility of the statement X.
In terms of epistemology hidden subjectivity and illusory objectivity are used to subvert the process of assessing evidence and are frequently elements of overstating a case, a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Precise statements that present items of evidence along with the additional information ("meta-data") needed to assess their relative weight encourage intellectual honesty.
Z said that X did Y
vs
X did Y
Whenever you hear a passively voiced statement that hides subjectivity, or a statement that has been stripped of all epistemological metadata through an active-passive-active conversion, or even an active voiced statement that hides the identity of the actor through anonymity, let your alarm bells start ringing and your skepticism rise. Wait until you get some reliable information and be very careful when repeating statements to attached the caveats of the epistemological metadata to them. I've never seen anything good come from hidden subjectivity or illusory objectivity - whether it was some some managerial type using it to try to manipulate me, or the local rumor-monger stirring it up.
The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 12 May 2009 at Hillsborough, USA.
To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either “Save link as” or “Save target as”
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.3.12 - Chapter 3: Talks Between Lord Śiva and Satī
The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 12 May 2009 at Hillsborough, USA. To download the lecture, right click on the download link and choose either ldquo;Save link asrdquo; or ldquo;Save target asrdquo; Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.3.12 - Chapter 3: Talks Between Lord Śiva and Satī
Pandu das: "It has recently come to my attention that Hare Krishna centers in New Zealand have stopped offering milk products to Krishna because they don’t have any protected cows giving milk."
BZZZT. Wrong.
Get your facts straight first, then have an opinion.
How many people am I watching read Sampradaya Sun and then go off on a rant based on what they read there, accepting it as fact, even though the original article has no citation?
It's ironic that they posted Baladeva Vidyabhusana's masterpiece of epistemology (Govinda bhasya) there, right next to pieces with zero rigor. Actually, it's a little embarrassing. This is not the level of philosophy that I expect from those who would represent Baladeva in the contemporary world.
Update:
Pandu asked me where I thought he was wrong. I replied:
Pandu, you said: “Hare Krishna centers in New Zealand have stopped offering milk products to Krishna”
However, this is incorrect.
More accurately:
“(some) Hare Krishna centers in New Zealand have stopped offering milk products to *guests*”
The above, while more accurate, is still misleading.
“Some Hare Krishna outreach centers in New Zealand have stopped offering milk products made milk from unprotected cows to guests”
is precisely correct.
Kela Tirtha das to me, in personal conversation in 2008 when I asked him about it while in NZ: “It’s not that Krishna doesn’t get his milk sweets”.
Please also see my post from November 2008, In NZ, no cow protection = no milk
I read today of the world's oldest living man: Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, who lives in Puerto Rico, and was born on August 21, 1891. That makes him 114 years old.
But, with respect, I say 'move over Emiliano', you're a new kid on the block:
'By human calculation, a thousand ages taken together form the duration of Brahma's one day. And such also is the duration of his night.'
"The duration of the material universe is limited. It is manifested in cycles of kalpas. A kalpa is a day of Brahma, and one day of Brahma consists of a thousand cycles of four yugas, or ages: Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali.
The cycle of Satya is characterized by virtue, wisdom and religion, there being practically no ignorance and vice, and the yuga lasts 1,728,000 years. In the Treta-yuga vice is introduced, and this yuga lasts 1,296,000 years. In the Dvapara-yuga there is an even greater decline in virtue and religion, vice increasing, and this yuga lasts 864,000 years. And finally in Kali-yuga (the yuga we have now been experiencing over the past 5,000 years) there is an abundance of strife, ignorance, irreligion and vice, true virtue being practically nonexistent, and this yuga lasts 432,000 years.
In Kali-yuga vice increases to such a point that at the termination of the yuga the Supreme Lord Himself appears as the Kalki avatara, vanquishes the demons, saves His devotees, and commences another Satya-yuga. Then the process is set rolling again. These four yugas, rotating a thousand times, comprise one day of Brahma, and the same number comprise one night. Brahma lives one hundred of such "years" and then dies. These "hundred years" by earth calculations total to 311 trillion and 40 billion earth years.
By these calculations the life of Brahma seems fantastic and interminable, but from the viewpoint of eternity it is as brief as a lightning flash. In the Causal Ocean there are innumerable Brahmas rising and disappearing like bubbles in the Atlantic. Brahma and his creation are all part of the material universe, and therefore they are in constant flux."
- Bhagavad-gita As It Is, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
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