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

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

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

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

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 councilors will opt for vegetarian meals. Ghent means to recognize the impact of livestock on the environment.

Developed at Rs 50 crore, Little Krishna is a first in terms of the technical and creative quality it offers. The Indian animation industry, which has so far played the ‘low-cost talent’ as its trump card to bag execution of internationally-conceptualised projects, has reason to cheer. It’s first locally conceptualised and developed 3-D animated television series, Little Krishna, is scheduled to go on air from May 11 on Nick.

Rasanath Das, our good friend and spiritual guide from the East Village Temple community, explains from his own unique perspective, as a former member of the Wall Street elect, that we need to look into our heart and find a place for "A Spiritual Stimulus"

August 2^nd, 2007. There was excitement in the air. The décor in the ball room at the Times Square Hilton was exquisite, the populace dressed in crisp business suits, shaking hands and introducing themselves, and right on the center of the far wall, the projector screen proudly displayed “Bank of America. Higher Standards.” As the fresh batch MBAs from top business schools walked into the room, the mood was clear. The long-cherished dream of working on The Street (also known as Wall Street) had finally come true for the many aspiring bankers and traders assembled.
As we settled down, my mind flashed back to the yesteryears. As a 9^th grader, I was an ardent fan of Charlie Sheen in “Wall Street”. The momentum that was generated 14 years ago had finally met with success. I was one of 13 associates about to start an exciting career in Investment Banking (oh, those big bonuses!) with the Technology and Media group of Bank of America. The Global Head of Investment Banking, Mr. Brian Brille opened his address to the class with the statement, “You are all starting here at a very historic time….” Exhilarating!

Flash ahead-The saxophone loudly played the title music of “The Titanic”. The faces of the people walking out of the building with card board boxes said the story. The moment was historic. September 8^th, 2008 – I stood outside the Lehman Brothers building at 745 7^th Avenue, as the street artist waved dry erase markers at passers-by, urging them to express “words of gratitude” on his painting of the Lehman Brothers CEO, Mr. Richard Fuld. The excitement was over, the bonuses had evaporated, and two Wall Street giants - Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers - had met their end. The remaining had been severely battered.

It all seemed like a dream. Emotions ran high through my head as I walked past Times Square– disappointment, anger and embarrassment. As the newspapers played into the blame game voicing the opinions of the general public on people working on Wall Street, Wall Street had become something like a criminal’s haven overnight. I felt it when I introduced myself to my neighbor on the Amtrak train, “Oh! You are one of the guys responsible for this mess”, he said with a wry smile. I had my own blame list too, which I used to defend myself. But something did not reconcile. It was true mean, I worked with many of these very people. They were good people – inspiring, driven to succeed, hard working and charitable too. What went wrong?

Over the last few months, some deep thinking , some sobering and heart-felt conversations with empowerment gurus has seemed to provide the much needed answer and possibly a long-term solution to a problem that had always existed through history and now had manifested itself in a different form - the problem of collective greed, or more simply put, greed itself.

It seems like a regular Bible lesson – something that I had learned as a 4 year old kid, too. Only that it took me 24 more years to realize what its unfathomable power can be. As individuals, we don’t seem to think lightly about it in ourselves. When my cousin ardently pointed out that I was being greedy when I took up my job on The Street, I made light out of it, “Well, a little greed does not matter much. After all, there are so manpeople out there who are doing the same. The world will come to a stop if we start thinking so idealistically!”

Greed is an addiction – it starts out as an innocent desire to be comfortable and live comfortably. But somewhere along the way, instead of us controlling money and position, they begin to control and dictate our lives. As my ethics professor at Cornell University once put it, “Watch out when you tell yourself ‘I deserve it’!” And there are hundreds of ways to justify it too – after all logical rationalization seems to be the biggest gift that college education has given us. But as greed grows stronger by the day, fed by our own justifications and inattention, it becomes a way of life.

And when things are going wellgood, it seems too unimportant to notice, as was my case during my brief stint on The Street. We unconsciously became part of a system that has been built oncollective greed (after all the first “commodities” to trade on Wall Street in the early 17^th century were human slaves!) and glorified the system when the music is playing well.

But it is when the music stops that reality dawns, of course only after all the anger and frustration has been released and we are ready to honestly look inside our own selves. True, our contribution to this crisis maycould have been insignificant, but if we are not honestly spending time cleansing our own hearts, we just have tomust mentally prepare ourselves for much more of the same. As we vent our frustrations on the Thains, Fulds and Madoffs during of this crisis, it is also important to realize that they were just reflections of the very same greed within our hearts - perhaps only nurtured by more sophisticated and favorable education, power and circumstances than what we may have had. It could have been any of us.

What may be needed in this time of crisis, along with a monetary solution to bail us out of it, is a program to help us monitor, take personal responsibility for and possibly eliminate the greed from our hearts– a Spiritual Stimulus if I may call ityou will. We all want to see this situation change, but to prevent this situation from reoccurring, we need a deeper change. As Mahatma Gandhi wonderfully put it, “Be the change you wish to see in the world!” How we do it, time will tell. But let us use this time to at least resolve (unlike our ‘serious’ New Year Resolutions!) to rid our heart of the pollution of greed. It can be a big step in creating a better world for our children.

Salila Vihar is one of the sweet summer festival celebrated in Mayapur for the divine pleasure of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava. During the summer evenings, Sri Sri Radha-Madhava will be seated in a lotus pond inside a flower bunglow. Devotees offer lotus flowers chanting 108 names of Sri Radha Madhava. After the flower flowering, the deities return to the main altar. Devotees eagerly line up for the ‘special mercy’ from the hands of Janainvasa prabhu. Prabhu distributes the maha lotuses to all by placing the flower with dripping water on the head. Children line up twice or thrice to receive the lotuses until they are totally drenched up.

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Change in Darshan Arti & Srimad Bhagavatam class Timings: Please make a note of change of timings in the Darshan Arti in Sri Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir. Darshan will open at 7.50 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. Srimad Bhagavtam Class is shifted earlier to 07.00 a.m. until 07.45 a.m. It was announced that this new timings will be in effect for next one month. You can watch the temple programs live here.

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In the Japa Room this week we were talking about re-applying the basic guidelines as outlined by Srila Prabhupada...Srila Prabhupada mentions some useful tips here:

"One should note in this connection that chanting involves the activities of the upper and lower lips as well as the tongue. All three must be engaged in chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. The words Hare Krishna should be very distinctly pronounced and heard. Sometimes one mechanically produces a hissing sound instead of chanting...with the proper pronunciation with the help of the lips and tongue. Chanting is very simple, but one must practice it seriously."
Chaitanya Charitamrta - Adi 17.32 purport

"Chanting japa should be done early in the morning with full concentration preferably during the Brahma Muhurta time. Concentrate fully on the sound vibration of the mantra, pronouncing each name distinctly and gradually your speed in chanting will increase naturally. Do not worry so much about chanting fast, most important is the hearing."
Letter from Srila Prabhupada 6/1/72

Devotee: "Srila Prabhupäda, it's very difficult to control my mind when I chant. It wanders."
Srila Prabhupada: "So what is the controlling of mind? You have to chant and hear. That is all. You have to chant with your tongue, and the sound you hear. What is the question of mind?"

This week in the Japa Room we had a lively and interesting discussion on Stage 1: Reaffirm our faith in the potency of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra....here is the transcript from the session. Names have been truncated for privacy.

M: Today when I was chanting I was mispronouncing syllables because I was going to fast but I "fought the war" and won over my mind

RasaRasika: Very nice to hear this M....this is the war we need to fight until we go beyond offenses and then at this stage we will automatically be fixed on the Hare Krsna mantra and we will taste the bliss of chanting very easily. Until then we need to keep bringing the mind back to the sound so that we can focus and get the purifying effects of chanting.

L: and if anything else comes to my mind i think about a great fire behind that image that swallows every other obstacle

RasaRasika: This is a great vision to have...the fire of good Japa can burn up the offenses, distractions of the mind and obstacles and will lead us to pure chanting...this is a very good way to think about our good quality Japa.

M: Whan I chanted today continuously I have felt like I have served Krishna the whole day. A day just for Krishna. This is the proof in chanting. I may have been chanting with offenses but stopped, the offenses stopped

RasaRasika: Very nice to hear this M...it's very important to be able to chant as many rounds as possible without stopping...it gives us the best chance of getting into the Japa Zone...a place where you can feel and experience the purifying effects of Japa and this will give you very good consciousness for the whole day as you have said. Very nice to hear this.

L: so is it more beneficial to always chant aloud than chant in mind ?

RasaRasika: It's a common thought...that we can chant in our minds - Srila Prabhupada recommends that we chant out loud so that we can hear ourselves...this doesn't have to be so loud that it disturbs others, but it can be as loud as you like as long as you can hear your own chanting. There is a nice quote in relation to this:

"The first regulative principle is that one must chant the Hare Krsna maha−mantra loudly enough so that he can hear himself, and one must vow to chant a fixed number of rounds."
Sri Caitanya caritamrta Antya−lila 11.24

BP: speaking of pronouncing things, I chant rama as two distinct sounds "ra-ma" but I've heard it chanted as "ram" or "rom" I think rama is correct but Im kinda confused

RasaRasika: It's a good question because there are different opinions...my understanding is the the word Rama is pronounced as it is...Ra-ma but it can also be pronounced as Ram without the a on the end. Srila Prabhupada chanted Rama like this but Ra-ma is also correct.

M: Can I chant Shiksastaka before japa? That's what I do

RasaRasika: Yes M by all means chant these prayers...it gets us in the proper mood for Japa...to be more tolerant than a tree and to feel ourselves more humble than the grass and to offer respects to others but not expect that in return...this is helpful to give us the right mood so we can chant continuously. We can also chant the pranams to our Spiritual Master and Srila Prabhuada and also the Panca Tattva mantra. Another prayer is our own personal prayer that we composed to ask the Lord to help us to improve and reach good quality Japa...that is also important to include.

L: where do i find the shiksastaka prayer and other prayers that we are talking about?

Rasa Rasika: http://www.krishna.com/node/624

L: i have read that we must not go over the head bead. what is the significance of that?

RasaRasika: The head bead is Krsna's bead so we don't chant on that bead...we chant around this bead but not on it. Krsna also likes to chant and meditate on His own Holy names so we reserve this bead for Him.

L: thanks for that. I have been sinning all this time as i was not aware of its significance.. i wud be careful now

BP: thats what I started to do....I would try to chant before bed but I was so tired I didn't always finish so I started waking up two hours early then the time I normally wake up before school and it give me lots of time to chant in the morning

RasaRasika: This is great news BP and you will see the reciprocation of Krsna for your efforts...when we make an effort like this, the Lord is pleased and gives us some reciprocation for our efforts...very nice to hear this, please continue to get up earlier.

M: yes, very nice P prabhu

L: I used to chant regulary and later got distracted in my life .. for a year i did not chant..even then God was so merciful to me always and one day i felt ashamed that i was losing touch not being a good child of God and taking him for granted it made me restless and then i started to chant again..makes me feel at peace with myself

RasaRasika: This is nice L...can you see how the Lord arranged your restlessness? It's because deep down inside we have the desire to chant the Holy names, and by the Lord's great mercy He gives us the imputence to chant again...this is a very nice story and give me great faith. You can see how the Lord reciprocates and gives us peace of mind when we chant.

Rasa Rasika: By the way, here is the addresss of Srila Prabhupada's Japa http://ia360904.us.archive.org/2/items/SrilaPrabhupadaJapaByExample/Prabhupada_japa_classReverb.mp3 just right click on this link and "Save as" or "Save link as"

L: also i realise that being in company of like minded devotees affirms your faith. i am glad to have discovered this chat room

Rasa Rasika: Yes L this is a very important aspect of devotional life...good association of like minded devotees interested in making advancement...I am glad you discovered the Japa Room and it's always nice to see you and everyone coming along each week...please keep coming back.

japa room: How can a devotee realise he has got firm faith and determination to chant, is it when he loses attraction to what impeds advancement

RasaRasika: Thanks A (who is appearing as japa room)...when we release ourselves from the impediments in our Japa, for example not doing other things at the same time...then by making this effort to improve this will give us some feeling when we chant...we will feel the purifying effects and then our faith becomes firm "Yes this chanting really does work"...from this firm faith comes determination to continue. So I would say it's a matter of releasing ourselves from impediments and then the faith and determination will be strong.

japa room: thanks

RasaRasika: OK we'll finish up for this week...thanks to everyone for coming along...next week is Stage 2: Admit to ourselves that we need to improve and manage the quality of our Japa...see you all then, Hare Krsna

1972 May 16: "Last time you told me that Lalita Prasad wanted to see me and according to his desire I saw him. And the proposal was accepted by him. Now it appears he has changed his mind so what can be done?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 May 16: "Regarding fourth canto, go on and prepare for publishing as quickly as possible. The first six volumes are selling very well so we may print more volumes and they will also sell."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 may 16: "Religious systems up to the idea of liberation are cheating. Actually there is no religion in the world accept Bhagavat religion, namely surrendering to the lotus feet of the Lord. This means the bhakti marga is the only religion."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 16: "I have not done anything personally, very wonderful. If I have done anything of credit it is that I have not changed their teachings. I have not added anything of my own interpretation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1966 May 16: "I know you well and I think once we met at Vrindaban and I took prasadam in your Matha behind the Ranganatha Temple. Perhaps you saw my paper also Back to Godhead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1971 May 16: "It is so much encouraging to hear how eagerly the high school boys and girls are taking to your preaching, so continue this program. And thank you very much for your good feelings. I shall be returning very soon."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 16: "If the Americans can take this up seriously, why not others? We are trying to unify the whole population of this globe by this movement. There are blessings of Lord Caitanya in this connection, and if we try sincerely it will be successful."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 16: "My dear Acyutananda, sometime ago you asked my permission for accepting some disciples, now the time is approaching very soon when you will have many disciples by your strong preaching work."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

Push-ups, crunches, gyms, personal trainers -- people have many strategies for building bigger muscles and stronger bones. But what can one do to build a bigger brain? Meditate. That's the finding from a group of researchers at UCLA who used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of people who meditate.

1966 May 16: "I know you well and I think once we met at Vrindaban and I took prasadam in your Matha behind the Ranganatha Temple. Perhaps you saw my paper also Back to Godhead."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1966

1971 May 16: "It is so much encouraging to hear how eagerly the high school boys and girls are taking to your preaching, so continue this program. And thank you very much for your good feelings. I shall be returning very soon."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 16: "If the Americans can take this up seriously, why not others? We are trying to unify the whole population of this globe by this movement. There are blessings of Lord Caitanya in this connection, and if we try sincerely it will be successful."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 16: "My dear Acyutananda, sometime ago you asked my permission for accepting some disciples, now the time is approaching very soon when you will have many disciples by your strong preaching work."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 16: "Last time you told me that Lalita Prasad wanted to see me and according to his desire I saw him. And the proposal was accepted by him. Now it appears he has changed his mind so what can be done?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1973 May 16: "Regarding fourth canto, go on and prepare for publishing as quickly as possible. The first six volumes are selling very well so we may print more volumes and they will also sell."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1974 may 16: "Religious systems up to the idea of liberation are cheating. Actually there is no religion in the world accept Bhagavat religion, namely surrendering to the lotus feet of the Lord. This means the bhakti marga is the only religion."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 May 16: "I have not done anything personally, very wonderful. If I have done anything of credit it is that I have not changed their teachings. I have not added anything of my own interpretation."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

Posted via web from aniruddha's posterous

May 15, 3:30 A.M. I woke up during the night with a headache and took a medication. After a while, I got back to sleep and woke at 3:15 A.M. I began chanting at 3:32 A.M. Early-morning japa log My chanting was not bad. I chanted at a good pace, under seven minutes per round. My mind was [...]

"Why have these impurities come upon you," the Lord asks Arjuna, in Bhagavad-gita As It Is. Impurity is a euphemism for sin, but in a sense, sinners may be considered victims, victims of the age of kali. Lord Nityananda is the symbol of "bhava grahi Janardana" or extracting the devotional essence from every living being, withholding judgment on the fallen souls of this age, and seeing sin as an unavoidable consequence of the present age.

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Gaura Purnima festival bhajan at Budapest (Hungary)

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.22-27 - Formation of world's oldest profession.

Every Town and Village is our ongoing attempt to fulfil the instruction of Caitanya Mahaprabhu to chant the Holy Name in every town and village. Our definition of a "town or village" is a suburb with a distinct postcode. Since 2007 we have chanted in more than 50 of Brisbane's 150 postcodes. You can read more reports here

View Larger Map

When: Sunday, 17 May, *3 pm*
Where: Kenny St and Fig Tree Pocket Rd, Lone Pine

Please note that the harinam is at 3pm this week. Afterwards there is a program at the temple in Graceville for the Vyasa puja of H.H. Indradyumna Swami, starting at 5pm.

today we painted Giriraj with a rainbow colored face. In Oriya, the word for "rainbow" is "Indra-dhanu" (literally "Indra's bow"). So Giriraj is Rainbow Raj for two reasons: 1) Because of the colors on his face; and 2) Because he defeated Indra by protecting the Brijbasis from the onslaught of the samvartaka clouds.
The glowing tilak is not a Photoshop technique. It's the reflection of the light.

We shouldn't be miserly about our Krishna consciousness. Because somebody else took the time and trouble to give Krishna consciousness to us we are now tasting the highest happiness. Remembering this we should pay our dues by doing the same for others as much as possible. In this regard the insider's secret is that the more you share ............................... ================================================================== Thought...

Paramahamsa: They say originally there was just a cell, and by adaptation in some circumstances, one kind would live and another would die. So all these varieties adapted to different conditions. Prabhupada: Who adapted this? Who managed? Paramahamsa: Well they just… accidentally. Prabhupada: Ah, that is nonsense. Nothing happens accidentally. That is nonsense. There must be some arrangement. What [...]

It’s fine if you consider yourself a Hare Krishna and do things which are not up to the standards that Srila Prabhupada set or even completely contradictory to Vedic culture***  What is not fine is when one tries to present these deviations as the standard behavior of Hare Krishnas or in accordance with Vedic culture. Bhakti [...]

By Ananda Tirtha das

Every year, each GBC member's zonal areas of responsibility are reviewed and ratified for the coming year. It is interesting to note a gradual shift over the years with an increasing number of GBC members preferring to share their zonal duties with one or more "co-GBCs". This holds true not just for major projects like Mayapur, which has a six-man GBC committee, but even for smaller yatras like Latvia, Bangladesh, and Honduras. Another recent development is a number of non-GBC members holding zonal responsibilities.

By Indradyumna Swami

A monsoon of ecstatic spiritual love brings great floods. All of Santipura floats on those waters. Alas! Ananta-raya's heart was not swept away by those flooding nectaran waters

Hare Krishna,

This weekend New Vrindaban hosts the North American GBC and Temple Presidents’ meetings which means we have a host of senior devotees giving the morning Srimad-Bhagavatam classes. Now, via our webcam and live audio features, you can tune in and participate from anywhere in the world! Please visit www.krishna.com/nv at 8:00 am EDT and click the live audio link under the webcam frame.

Youmay need to turn your volume up.

The class schedule is as follows:

Friday May 15: HH Romapada Swami
Saturday May 16: HG Ravindra Svarupa Das
Sunday May 17: HH Hrdayananda Das Goswami
Monday May 18: HH Trivikrama Swami

SB: canto 10 chapter 9, Damodara lila

From

Hare Krishna,

Your servant,

ATD

Diary of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 5, No. 2
By Krishna-kripa das
(January 2009, part two)
Gainesville, Tallahassee
(Uploaded from Langenthal, Switzerland, on 5/15/09)

Highlights:

Insight from Hridayananda Dasa Goswami, Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu, Sesa Prabhu, and More
Chanting at the Martin Luther King Day Parade
Aaron, the Christian Sannyasi
Chanting at Tallahassee's Lake Ella

Where I Am and What I Am Doing

For January through April, I promised Kalakantha Prabhu, the Gainesville
temple president, I would maintain the chanting program at University of Florida during the serving out of Krishna Lunch. I also promised Tamohara Prabhu, the GBC of Tallahassee, I would spend two weekends and one weekday there assisting with the outreach.

Chanting at the Martin Luther King Parade

Devotees from Alachua chanted at the Martin Luther King Day Parade.


People nearby our party clapped along with our music and mantra, . . .

. . . including some smiling young Afro-American ladies from the Baptist
church.

Trey was inspired to bring many gallons of lemonade, which he distributed to participants and onlookers. We chanted at the end of the parade for at least half an hour.

Chanting at Tallahassee's Lake Ella

Tallahassee is blessed with many parks, including the one surrounding Lake Ella, which is very close to the center of the city. Even on a cloudy January day with temperatures in the 50s F [low teens C] there were many people strolling, exercising, walking their dogs, and pushing their children in strollers.

Daru Brahma Prabhu, Sivam, Sivam's daughter, Subhadra, and I chanted and passed out invitations, pamphets, and flyers. We choose to sit on the gravel near the sidewalk instead of the grass to interact with more people. Subhadra, who was only about seven years old, was very enthusiastic to make sure everyone who passed by got an invitation and a pamphlet on chanting Hare Krishna. Because she was a kid, very few of the people refused her, and I think she was more successful than I would have been.

Insight from Lectures

Hridayananda Dasa Goswami: [Click here to hear entire lecture.]

If you do everything properly according to dharma, what happens is to be
considered God's will. Not that you go down the street shooting people and
claiming, “If it wasn't their karma, I could not kill them.”

Srimad-Bhagavatam describes that Draupadi was dragged by the hair into the men's gambling hall. Not that she was gambled away by Yudhisthira. Mahabharata, according to Madhvacarya, is largely corrupted, and this may be one of the corruptions.

Both male chauvinism and feminism are nasty states of being.

From Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu (SB 11.5.1-) [Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu has a class via conference call almost every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Contact Sraddha Devi Dasi at the Philadelphia temple if you want to know how to access it.]:

The demigods place many obstacles on the path of those who worship You to transcend the temporary abodes of the demigods and reach Your supreme abode. Those who offer the demigods their assigned shares in sacrificial performances encounter no such obstacles. But because You are the direct protector of Your devotee, he is able to step over the head of whatever obstacle the demigods place before him. (SB 11.4.10)

Vasista cursed Nimi to die because he started a sacrifice without him because he was delayed, and so Nimi countercursed Vasista to die. They both died. People wanted to resurrect Nimi from his preserved dead body, but the King didn't want a disgusting material body. Thus he got a benediction of a spiritual body to worship the Lord which could be manifest or nonmanifest to others, according to his will.

Varnasrama is especially meant for those not spontaneously attracted to the devotional service of the Lord.

According to Sridhara Svami, the brahmanas are born of the mode of goodness, the ksatriyas of a combination of goodness and passion, the vaisyas of a combination of passion and ignorance and the sudras of the mode of ignorance (SB 11.5.2, purport). Ravindra Svarupa Prabhu likes this as it is more symmetrical than the other description where the ksatriyas are simply in passion.

There are graduations within the varna divisions. For example, among ksatriyas, Yudhisthira is so detached, he is practically a brahmana, while Bhima is completely different.

Imaginary as far as the virat-rupa is concerned does not mean “made up” because the virat is described in the sastra, but rather it means to think the virat-rupa is more substantial than the Lord's spiritual form

The kala-rupa (form of time) aspect of the virat-rupa (universal form) is the side of God nobody likes-Krishna as time, the destroyer of all.

If you are following varnasrama, at least you do not do any sin.

A demon is one who disregards the scripture. This is clear from
Bhagavad-gita Chapter 16, especially verses 18 and 23.

Failure to worship a respectable person is considered disrespectful. It is not that you respect your diksa (initiating) guru, and ignore everyone else. Often offenders start on a lower level and work their way up to disrespecting their guru.

The virat-rupa has metaphorical elements in it, like “vegetation is the hairs on His body,” but is not completely metaphorical. The universe is like an organism in that it is unified, with parts working together, and has a single consciousness pervading it. Brahma is technically the soul of the universe, and Garbodhakasayi Vishnu is its Supersoul.

Arjuna is given divine vision to see the vast expanse of time and space
brought into one time and one space.

As we can move our hand by our own will, because it is part of our body, the Lord can move things in the universe simply by willing, and in that sense, it can be said that the universe is His body. In reality, He is more expert at moving His body, than we are moving our body.

Q: Why do the demigods put obstacles in the path of devotees?
A: Sometimes they are upset they are no longer getting worshiped, like Indra in Vrindavan. It is like in an organization, if the boss favors you, your other superiors become envious of you and may make trouble for you. Not only do we have to overcome the temptations of impiety, but we have to overcome the temptations of piety given by the demigods.

Q: Nowadays people cannot at all relate to the idea of worship of one's
spiritual teacher. What to do?
A: If you look at the scriptural descriptions of the guru-disciple relationship, you can see it is the ideal situation to transmit knowledge. When we do have good teachers that we really benefit from, we feel like worshiping them.

I have to keep learning about the problem of envy in human affairs. I forget about it, and then I am reminded again.

Sesa Prabhu:

Through Krishna consciousness we can give people an experience of a love
that dissolves the divisions between people.

We seek rasas (relationships) in this world because we have an eternal rasa with Krishna.

Krishna, who is the controller, who agitates everything, and who descends into this world, agrees to be controlled by His devotees' love. We love God by surrendering to Him, and He loves us by allowing us to control Him.

In this world, however, if people are attracted to us, we have a tendency to exploit them.

“Master our passions instead of letting our passions master us.” -Kalakantha Prabhu

“In any group I was with, I would look to see if there were people
from a variety of backgrounds. If there were, I thought, 'There must be
something to it.' I found that there in the society of Krishna devotees. -Ali Krishna Devi Dasi

“By looking at people you can tell who is having illicit sex and who is isn't. The ones who are celibate have a certain glow. I got this test from Bhakti Vikas Swami.” -Stavapriya Das

Conversations with Others About
Spirituality

I met Aaron, an old man with graying hair but youthful energy, dressed in robes, coming to Krishna lunch. He travels in the north in the summer and the south in the winter, reminding people about God. “God's will has always been simple,” he says. “Love God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” He says he is a follower of Christ, but not “the Christ of the world.” He said he loved taking prasadam with Hare Krishna devotees in Eugene, Oregon, and helped out with the dishes afterwards.

Here he assisted Trey with the dishes in the Gainesville Krishna House.

Aaron's lifestyle reminds me that end of life is meant for sannyasa, leaving
home, traveling the world, and reminding others of the teachings of God.

I asked Frank, a medical student with a serious interest in Krishna
consciousness, what he thought of a recent conversation about the pros and cons of wearing devotional clothes? He replied, “I am attracted by peoplewearing what they feel comfortable in.”

nāma vinu kali-kāle nāhi āra dharma
sarva-mantra-sāra nāma, ei śāstra-marma

“In this Age of Kali there is no religious principle other than the chanting of the holy name, which is the essence of all Vedic hymns. This is the purport of all scriptures.” (Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 7.74)

Have managed to download or upload (???) some photos of devotees in Australia showing some of the service folks are doing there and their lives as lived. Amazing how individual everybody’s offering of service can be…………….and how enlivening to see the many creative ways everyone can engage. I will try to get some help from someone probably about 40 years younger than me to get a grip on how to place or move pics around. HOpe you enjoy seeing them anyway.

...did I mention my new hair-cut?! :))

Haribol prabhu!

It was a great surprise to hear from you and your message was very welcome! We tried to trace your email but are obviously not very technically adept. I guess we will just hope you check in with us again so we can get your details. Your life sounds sweet like the honey you speak of………….would be good to catch up some time. We will be in U.K. from May 16th this year (tomorrow, in fact! we’re just leaving India) for maybe four to six months. Please let us know if you are likely to be around or how to contact you again.
With love from Bhagavat and Sarva. HOpe we can be in touch.

Elkészült az Új Vrindabani utunk első videója. Ebben a részben a templom murtijait tekinthetitek meg, illetve a mellette található nagyon szép parkról láthattok képeket.

Bhakta Saurabh has joined the Brahmchari Trainee batch that has just begun in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir. On his first day of book distribution he had a nice experience:

I was distributing books in the local trains. From 2:15- 3:45 pm I could only distribute 4 small books. Then I remembered the words of Balaji Prabhu, one of the top book distributors from the previous BT batch. "Book distribution is all about prayers," he had told me. "Srila Prabhupada is the one who distributes through us. Just pray to him." Remembering his words I casually prayed to Srila Prabhupada. When I went to the next compartment even before I had made my announcement, a man called for me. "Just a minute sir," I acknowledged him and then made my announcement. Then I went to him. I was carrying a set of eight books. He asked to take a look and I gave the set to him. He looked at each and asked, "How much?"

"This costs 15, this 20, and this" I began telling him the cost of each book. "What the entire set costs?" My jaw dropped. I mumbled out the price. He gave the money and took the set. In the next 10 minutes I distributed 24 books. I realized that Book Distribution is all about prayers.

Bhakta Saurabh has joined the Brahmchari Trainee batch that has just begun in Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Mandir. On his first day of book distribution he had a nice experience:

I was distributing books in the local trains. From 2:15- 3:45 pm I could only distribute 4 small books. Then I remembered the words of Balaji Prabhu, one of the top book distributors from the previous BT batch. "Book distribution is all about prayers," he had told me. "Srila Prabhupada is the one who distributes through us. Just pray to him." Remembering his words I casually prayed to Srila Prabhupada. When I went to the next compartment even before I had made my announcement, a man called for me. "Just a minute sir," I acknowledged him and then made my announcement. Then I went to him. I was carrying a set of eight books. He asked to take a look and I gave the set to him. He looked at each and asked, "How much?"

"This costs 15, this 20, and this" I began telling him the cost of each book. "What the entire set costs?" My jaw dropped. I mumbled out the price. He gave the money and took the set. In the next 10 minutes I distributed 24 books. I realized that Book Distribution is all about prayers.

Here is a lovely and funny resource aimed at children, here are some of the clips. Prasadam Monster Hare Krishna\'s Saradhi cow song Reading to your baby And not forgetting the home page: navadvip street As usual I’ll put an hyper link onto my blog

Applying the word "story" to a Srimad Bhagavatam history or account is tantamount to calling the incident a "myth" or a "tall tale." The word is judgmental and carries a strong connotation of fiction. It should therefore be banned from our vocabulary when referring to real occurrences.

Japa essay

Japa is fun. But it’s hard work, too. You have to keep your mind controlled, and controlling the mind is as hard as controlling the wind. But with the right determination, it can be done. You just streamline. You ride horseback with no saddle, like an American Indian. You don’t think of anything else but the sound of the syllables. It’s really not so hard to do. You just cling to the mantras, ride fast, and let the wind blow through your hair (if you have any hair). Hare Krishna Hare Krishna... that’s good enough. “Just hear.” Prabhupada’s famous signature. Of course, there’s more to it than that—there’s seeing Krishna’s form, qualities, pastimes, etc. But if you can simply “just hear,” you have made a good start. The rest will come gradually. If you can think of Krishna, that’s so much the better. But on the other hand, what is there to think? The name of Krishna is as good as Himself. The name Krishna is more merciful than the form of Krishna. So it’s really complete in the chanting and hearing process—just keep it streamlined, without catching cows on your locomotive’s cowcatcher. Just keep the flocks of birds out of your jet intake, pure and simple, with no obstructions. Cry to Krishna to do this and your meditation is complete: “Please let me chant Your names, Oh Radha, Oh Krishna, please let me serve You!”[...]

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #71→

In this material world we face all kinds of situations. Sometimes things are going great. Sometimes things are disastrous. Krishna consciousness means to be equipoised in all sorts of variegated situations. It means not to be carried away by these dualities. It takes time and training to come to this stage. But it is well worth the endeavor of reaching...

Gaura Purnima bhajan at Budapest (Hungary)

Ekalavya das: Lord Caitanya's 500th anniversary of Sannyasa. We can make this the theme for delivering the Holy Name to the rest of the world. Mahaprabhu's leaving of comforts to give welfare to the entire world, just as Srila Prabhupada did also.

1966 May 15:
"Ekadasi. The whole day I was in Ananda Ashram I came back at 5 P.M. Yolanda brought me back by her car. She has promised to come here on Wednesday next."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 May 15: "If we cannot organize these sales, there is no use of printing books and stocking them in our store room. It would be better to hand it over to the MacMillan Company."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 May 15: "Now you say August 1st, but last time you said June 1st, so how long this delaying business shall go on? Our Bhagavad-gita As It Is is too much important to the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 15: "So far our investing, where is our money to invest? We have no money to invest. Our process is to collect and spend, from left hand to right hand, or from right hand to left hand."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 15: "We have taken a very responsible task. At the present moment, to speak the truth, the whole population of the world are demons and animals. It may be a very strong aspersion but this is the fact."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 15: "The people are so mad, they are talking so many nonsense things - nonsense philosophy, nonsense science - and our task is to meet all of them and at the same time pacify them in their lunatic condition."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1974 May 15: "There is a Festival in Rome, and then Geneva for another festival and for meetings with the World Health Council. Then Paris and Amsterdam and on to Koln, and then Heidelberg and Sweden. Rathayatra in Chicago and then San Francisco on July 8th."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 May 15: "Why these books are not being published? This is our first business. Immediately, these pending books must all be published. Why the delay?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1966 May 15:
"Ekadasi. The whole day I was in Ananda Ashram I came back at 5 P.M. Yolanda brought me back by her car. She has promised to come here on Wednesday next."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 May 15: "If we cannot organize these sales, there is no use of printing books and stocking them in our store room. It would be better to hand it over to the MacMillan Company."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 May 15: "Now you say August 1st, but last time you said June 1st, so how long this delaying business shall go on? Our Bhagavad-gita As It Is is too much important to the world."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 15: "So far our investing, where is our money to invest? We have no money to invest. Our process is to collect and spend, from left hand to right hand, or from right hand to left hand."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 15: "We have taken a very responsible task. At the present moment, to speak the truth, the whole population of the world are demons and animals. It may be a very strong aspersion but this is the fact."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 15: "The people are so mad, they are talking so many nonsense things - nonsense philosophy, nonsense science - and our task is to meet all of them and at the same time pacify them in their lunatic condition."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 May 15: "Why these books are not being published? This is our first business. Immediately, these pending books must all be published. Why the delay?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1974 May 15: "There is a Festival in Rome, and then Geneva for another festival and for meetings with the World Health Council. Then Paris and Amsterdam and on to Koln, and then Heidelberg and Sweden. Rathayatra in Chicago and then San Francisco on July 8th."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

I am now on Facebook as Akrura Dasa. You may find more texts there.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.19-21 - Krsna-prasada sevaya for controlling the tongue ki jai!

Andrew Kang from South Australia wrote:

Kurma, please tell about rennet. What's it for, what does it do?

I replied:

Hello Andrew, Rennet is an essential ingredient in cheese making. It's an enzyme that coagulates milk proteins, thus setting the curd.

more...

The following is a class about Ramananda Raya given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 14 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 class about Ramananda Raya given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 14 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;

The following is a Evening talk given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 13 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 13 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;

Regarding Swamis and "Swaminies,'' you have been misinformed. Among my disciples there is only one Swami or Sannyasi, but there is no "Swaminie.'' Woman is never offered Sannyasa in the Vedic culture. Up to Vanaprastha stage the woman may remain with her husband as assistant or friend without any sex relation, and when a man takes Sannyasa the woman has no connection with him. I am very sorry to inform you that there are some Indian "Swamis'' in this country who are living with so-called "Swaminies,'' but so far we are concerned we follow strictly the Vedic principles.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Nevatiaji — Los Angeles 16 July, 1970

Shyam Mahtani: HH Jayapataka Swami Maharaj is coming to US and to Atlanta for the first time, out of India, after his recent illness. Also, HG Panakajangari Prabhu is also coming to Atlanta at the same time.

By Basu Ghosh Das

Ex-TP of ISKCON Vrindavan and non-GBC Zonal Secretary for several areas of ISKCON in India, and Temple President of ISKCON Indore, is serious condition in the Bombay hospital at Indore, Madhya Pradesh

Little Buddy Biscuit Company, based in Brooklyn, bakes vegan cookies and cupcakes along with an array of traditional treats.

When it comes to vegan-friendly dining, New Yorkers have it relatively easy, with a host of specialty stores and restaurants offering options for those who don’t eat animal products. As veganism becomes less of a mystery – and talented vegan cooks multiply – even staunch carnivores are starting to see the appeal of embracing a plant-based diet, if only for a meal or two.

But despite all the tasty vegan breakfasts, lunches and dinners out there, there’s another course that’s a little more perplexing: dessert. How is it possible to make crumbly cookies and light, fluffy cakes without butter, eggs, milk or refined sugars — and still have them taste like, well, a treat?

“If it’s done right, something vegan should still taste good,” says Pete Solomita, whose Little Buddy Biscuit Company provides coffee shops around Brooklyn with delicious cookies and cupcakes, including some vegan varieties (he’s opening his own storefront bakery this summer in South Park Slope). “And it should taste good enough for someone who’s not vegan to eat it as well.”

No matter what meal you’re cooking, making a vegan dish that’s both healthy AND mouthwatering involves a dash of culinary science – in the form of thoughtful subsitution of a few key ingredients.

“If you’re going to eat a vegan dinner, you might have to look for a protein that replaces meat. If you’re looking at a baked good, most have butter, eggs, and could also have milk and cream,” all of which must be replaced for a dish to be considered vegan, Solomita says. To show us how it’s done, he started with a traditional recipe for apple sauce cake and substituted the butter, eggs and refined sugar for vegan-friendly counterparts. He explains:

“I replace the butter with only 2 ounces of canola oil, and you don’t miss the extra fat. The egg is replaced with xanthan gum, which is a natural stabilizer or thickener. I also add more apple cider to replace the volume lost from the egg.

“When you don’t have eggs and butter in a recipe, you can of course be losing richness or texture. In this recipe that is less apparent because of the strong apple flavor from the apple three ways (cider, dried apple and apple sauce) and the moistness of the recipe.

“I also substitute white sugar with maple sugar, which is more healthful and adds nice flavor to the apples.”

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.

2. Bring dried apples and 1 cup of cider to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook until liquid evaporates and mixture appears dry, about 15 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

3. Whisk flour, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt in a medium bowl to combine; set aside. In a second medium bowl, whisk maple sugar and spices. Set aside 2 tablespoons of sugar and spice mixture in a small bowl to top the cake.

4. In a food processor, process cooled dried-apple mixture and applesauce until smooth, 20-30 seconds, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Add remaining 1/4 cup of cider and process the mixture more until blended.

5. Whisk oil and sugar mixture until combined. Add applesauce mixture and continue to whisk until well combined. Add flour and fold gently with a spatula until you don’t see flour anymore and batter is evenly moist.

6. Turn batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with a rubber or offset spatula. Sprinkle reserved maple sugar and spice mix evenly over the batter. Bake until wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Cool on rack to room temperature, about 2 hours. Run knife along cake edges without parchment to release. Remove cake from pan by lifting the parchment overhang and transfer to cutting board. Cut cake and serve. Cooled leftovers can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated, September & October 2006

Ingredients

2 ounces of dried apples, cut into small pieces
1-1/4 cups of apple cider
1-1/2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour (7 ½ ounces)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (sold at health food stores)
1/2 teaspoon salt
4-3/4 ounces of maple sugar (ground)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1 cup unsweetened applesauce, room temperature
1/4 cup of canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Tagged: baking, NY, vegan

• What: Speakers, cooking demonstrations, live music, food for sale, free product samples, silent auction, raffle.
• Where: Cafe Bamboo, 435 Esplanade Ave.
• When: Sunday, May 17, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Cost: $5, children under 2 admitted free.
• Proceeds benefit: Humane Society of Louisiana.
• More info: www.nolaveggiefest.com.

Attention, carnivores: You are specifically invited to the New Orleans Veggie Fest on Sunday.

Although lots of vegetarians and vegans will be there, the event is not just for them, said festival spokeswoman Dr. Leslie Brown, a north shore pediatrician and practicing vegan.

“That would be like preaching to the choir. We’re hoping people will come and hear about all the health benefits and the benefits to animals and the environment” of a meatless lifestyle, she said. “Or at least consider eating fewer animal products.”

The festival’s efforts don’t “mean you have to give up meat and become really extreme, but here are some things you can do to add healthy things to your diet, ” echoed Jessica Blanchard, a cooking instructor who will do a demonstration at the event. Blanchard also owns a local yoga studio and specializes in Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga that involves diet, nutrition and herbal therapies. Blanchard studied Ayurveda in India for years.

“Here, people don’t know how to cook vegetarian; the diet is heavy on seafood, fats and meats. They feel like they can’t eat healthy and change their diets, because they don’t know how, ” Blanchard said. “I like giving them the tools for that.”

Jeff Dorson, director of the local Humane Society of Louisiana, said an initial Veggie Fest was held 15 years ago and went well. Its success convinced him and his partner to open Jack Sprat’s Vegetarian Grill on South Carrollton Avenue. The restaurant closed in 1998 after a four-year run.

A year ago, Dorson organized the New Orleans Vegetarian Society.

“There was not much interest until about six months ago, ” Dorson said. “Now it’s growing. There is some more interest in dietary lifestyles and planetary changes. There seems to be enough interest to hold the Veggie Fest, so we’re going forward.”

The theme, he said, will be how to increase the consumption of plant-based foods. In addition to health benefits, the issue addresses global warming and deforestation, he said.

Brown said diet changes also benefit animals that are treated inhumanely in the production of meat, dairy and eggs. She became a vegan about a year ago after reading “Skinny Bitch.”

“I thought it was a diet book, ” Brown said. “It’s clever. It backs a big punch about animals raised in factory farms. I’ve considered myself an animal lover for more than 40 years, and you can’t eat meat and continue to call yourself an animal lover.”

Brown, a Metairie native who ate meat all her life, said it took her four or five months to transition away from dairy, eggs and seafood. The hardest thing to give up was ice cream, she said, but she’s looking forward to tasting the coconut milk ice cream that may be sampled at Veggie Fest.

Meat and cheese substitutes can ease the transition, Brown said.

“There are great chicken nuggets that are meat substitutes that I sneak onto my son’s plate all the time, and he doesn’t have a clue, ” Brown said. Her son is 5 and “eats whatever I put in front of him.” Her 12-year-old daughter “has pledged to eat less meat. She’s not a vegetarian yet.”

Economically, the basics of vegetarian and vegan diets are “all cheap stuff, ” Brown said. “A really good diet for any American is 80 percent whole grains, fruit, vegetables and legumes. A bag of rice, a can of beans and some produce, especially bought locally, is cheap. I think it’s more economical than a diet heavy in meat.”

The event will feature vegetarian dishes from the festival site, Cafe Bamboo, and foods from vegan and vegetarian vendors.

. . . . . . .

This satisfying dish is light, packed with nutrients and great to serve in warm weather, Blanchard said.

Carrot and Beet Salad With Coconut Lime Dressing

½ cup cashews

4 cups grated carrots (about 4 large carrots)

3 cups grated beets (about 3 beets)

¼ cup raisins

1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk

Juice of one lime (about ¼ cup)

Pinch of salt

½ cup chopped cilantro plus ¼ cup for garnish

¼ cup dry roasted coconut flakes (optional)

Dry-roast the cashews in a pan, then chop coarsely. In a large bowl, mix together carrots, beets and raisins. Add the coconut milk, lime and salt. Toss together to mix. Add ½ cup cilantro and cashews. Let stand for 10 minutes so the carrots and beets make lots of their own juices.

Add the coconut flakes (if using) and ¼ cup fresh cilantro and serve.

. . . . . . .

Festival organizer Jehan Strouse makes this recipe regularly using different greens: kale, zucchini, bok choy, chard or collard greens. The seasonings “give the veggies a yummy flavor, ” she said.

Jehan’s Sesame Stir Fry

Makes 2 to 4 servings

3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce, reduced sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos*

hing to taste

1-inch piece ginger, peeled, shaved

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed

1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

1 bunch kale, chopped in 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

In a saute pan over medium heat, combine oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper and molasses. Slowly stir kale into liquid. Cook, stirring often, until kale is soft and reduced in volume, about 10 minutes. Add black sesame seeds toward the end, while stirring. Serve immediately.

*Bragg Liquid Aminos is a popular low-sodium soy substitute.

. . . . . . .

Brown likes these chocolate chip cookies, from a recipe in “The Joy of Vegan Baking” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Chocolate chip cookies

Makes 1 dozen large cookies

4 ½ teaspoons egg replacer (equivalent of 3 eggs)

6 tablespoons water

1 cup non-hydrogenated, nondairy butter, softened

¾ cup granulated sugar

¾ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 to 2 cups nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a nonstick cookie/baking sheet.

In a food processor or blender, whip the egg replacer and water together until thick and creamy.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together until creamy the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the egg replacer mixture to this wet mixture, and thoroughly combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture until it begins to form a dough. When it is almost thoroughly combined, stir in with a spatula the chips and nuts, if using.

Drop cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

. . . . . . .

The next two recipes are from “The Sublime Restaurant Cookbook” by Nanci Alexander. The tomato sauce makes enough to freeze.

Fusilli Bolognese

Makes 4 to 6 servings

4 cups fusilli pasta

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

hing to taste

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1 quart tomato sauce (see below)

2 cups soy crumbles

1 pound ice

1 gallon water

1 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on high heat. Add the garlic. Cook and stir 30 to 60 seconds, until it just starts to brown. Add ¼ cup basil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and soy crumbles. Simmer for 30 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, mix the ice and water in a large bowl. Cook the peas in boiling water with a pinch of salt for 1 to 3 minutes. Drain the peas and immediately submerge them in the ice water. Allow the peas to cool completely.

When ready to serve, drain the peas and add them to the sauce. Toss the pasta with the hot sauce and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons fresh basil. Serve immediately.

Basic Tomato Sauce

Makes 1 gallon

1 ½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

hing to taste

2 tablespoons dried basil

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 (4-ounce) can tomato paste

1 can (64-ounce) plum tomatoes, undrained

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped fresh basil

Place ½ cup of the oil and hing  in a large pot. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the dried basil, oregano and parsley. Stir for 2 minutes, until the herbs are lightly toasted. Add tomato paste, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes, until the mixture turns a rusty color.

Add tomatoes and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and stir in fresh basil leaves and the remaining cup of oil. Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher until they are chunky.

Stored in a covered container in the refrigerator, the tomato sauce will keep for up to four days.

. . . . . . .

Taken From:http://www.nola.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2009/05/anything_can_turn_up_at_veggie.html with minor editing

Tagged: festival, food, meat eaters, vegan

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.

Space is limited, so please register asap.  You can register by filling out the form below:

Please join us this Saturday, May 16th for another ISKCON Toronto Food for Life event. There will be devotees visiting from ISKCON Montreal who will be taking part in the distribution of wonderful, hot vegetarian meals (prasadam).

Star Trek, the franchise that never dies, has, like the vampire, returned among us, this time in a clever “prequel” to the original ’60s space opera TV series. In this, the eleventh of the series-spawned feature films, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the other starship Enterprise voyagers appear as “sexy young cadets,” as David Hajdu describes [...]

BY HG SHYAM GOPAL (Photos from Mayapur.com) Allow me to tell a true story that happened some 10 years ago in South-Africa. The father and the daughter who experienced this event told this story to my friend, a sannyasi and devotee of Lord Nrsimhadev. This stories was also found in the newspapers, and several witnesses of this truck-accident [...]

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.

Download: 2009-03-21 - Giriraj Swami - SB 8.5.25.mp3

Devotees Injured in Traffic Accident, Indore
BY: BASU GHOSH DAS (ACBSP)
May 12, BARODA, INDIA (SUN) — Mahaman Prabhu progress report - May 11, 2009 - Good news
Here is a progress report on the condition of Sriman Mahaman Prabhu that I just wrote [to a godbrother] after speaking on the telephone with Mahaman Prabhu's wife, Paramahamsa Mataji, just a few moments ago:
Home Base: ISKCON-Baroda Dear Prabhu,Namonamaha. Jaya Srila Prabhupada!
Received your message:
How is Mahaman Prabhu's condition? Our prayers are for his speedy recovery. I tried to contact that mobile number of his wife which you gave, but no response. Just now I phoned his wife -- it's 8:00 AM IST on Monday, May 11, 2009 -- on that very same mobile number: 93004-74043, and she answered immediately.
Maybe there was a "glitch" (problem) with the "line" when you phoned? This is a "Reliance" number and it's not unusual for there to be problems connecting to such numbers from other SP's ("service providers"). My phone is BSNL, the Government telecom here and at least today it went through! ;-)
The report is good. Although Mahaman Prabhu's condition is "serious" (she didn't state that, but it was "critical but stable" before, so I conject that the improvement "upgrades" his condition, thus), and he's still in the ICU, they've removed oxygen support (he was NOT intubated, at least) and he's able to breath normally, on his own. There is a constant drain of fluids from his lungs -- or an infection or collection of blood & fluid (I won't know exactly what the doctors are calling that till I go there -- and I'm now planning to do so after he's out of the ICU) in that area.
Mataji said that it will be a few more days before he's shifted out of the ICU. They allow visitors only a few minutes with him in the ICU, so my feeling is that it's best to let the "major healing" take place, and then visit him when I can spend more time with him.
HH Gopal Krishna Maharaj visited him last Tuesday. Ganga Narayan Prabhu, TP of ISKCON Ujjain visited him again yesterday. Otherwise, there haven't been other "out of town" visitors, yet.
ISKCON Juhu will be shortly arranging for a collection of contributions to help cover the hospitalization costs of his care. ISKCON Baroda VP Nityananda Ram Das was there last Sunday & Monday, and we contributed on the spot a cash donation of approximately US $400 (Rs. 20,000/-).
Details will be sent out on the internet shortly (of how to send the contributions to Juhu temple), so that those who wish to help cover the expenses of his hospitalization and treatment, may do so. It's anticipated that the costs may go up to about Rs. 5 lakhs, that's approximately US $ 10,000. Around a lakh of Rupees has already been spent by his wife on his treatment... (US $ 2,000).
Thanks for you kind message and prayers. I'm copying this to Mahaman Prabhu's e-mail address, so that when he gets better, he'll see how many devotees were thinking of him and praying for him!
Hope this meets you well.
das,
Basu Ghosh Das

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:

Devotional Rehearsals

“Stress Is Good”

“Get Out! Get Active!”

The Culture of Wimps

World Drama

By Stephen Knapp
Courtesy of his website http://www.stephen-knapp.com/

Economics According To The Vedic Way by Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana Das)

This 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.