Ranganath das: By the mercy of Lord Jagannatha, ISKCON Canberra temple will be celebrating Lord Jagannatha Rathayatra in Canberra on Saturday, 30th May starting at 10:30AM. This year, we will be blessed by the kind association of His Holiness Prabhavisnu Swami

Vrndavanlila Devi Dasi: The auspicious occasion of HH Bhakti Raghava Swami’s Vyasa Puja day gave the Secunderabad VRT - Varnasrama Research Team (HH Bhakti Raghava Swami’s brainchild to encourage and spread the message of varnasrama dharma across the planet) another reason to celebrate Srila Prabhupada's gift to mankind...

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 18 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 7.9.18 - Chapter 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva with Prayers

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 18 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 7.9.18 - Chapter 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva with Prayers

Payonidhi das: Today I was remembering this Navadvipa Sataka and looked it up. Srila Prabhodananda Sarasvati has written this sweet book to help us meditate on Sri Navadvipa. Who is he?

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 17 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 4.3.17 - Chapter 3: Talks Between Lord Śiva and Satī

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 17 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 4.3.17 - Chapter 3: Talks Between Lord Śiva and Satī

The following is a bhajan, ‘The Gopis Song of Separation’ and purport given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 17 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 bhajan, 'The Gopis Song of Separation' and purport given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 17 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;

Pretoria to Durban, South Africa

I waited to check in for my flight to Durban and a young man was staring at me. He finally approached me, and asked me if I was a monk. I replied yes, I am a Hare Krishna. He went to say that he works at a new age yoga studio, and he had some questions for me. I sat next to him and just listened to what he had to say. He opened his heart to me; he started describing how he started practicing yoga to escape the pain in his heart from failed relationships, from the pain of disappointing his family. He expressed that he thought of suicide once. He was in tears as he was revealing this to me. He wanted to know if yoga is such a peaceful way of using your energy, then why does he feel that something is missing. He has been practicing for over six years and feels no difference in his heart.

I sat back and just listened, I could understand that this mans heart was heavy with the burdon of material life. When he finished, I asked him what does he want from life. He looked off into the distant lights and just shook his head. He said man; I just want to become happy. Can you help me please, can you show me happiness. I said Of course, that is my duty to help you. The reason your yoga has not worked is because you are missing the key ingredient, that ingredient being God. The object of yoga is to reconnect to Krsna. But better than practicing hatha yoga is to practice bhakti yoga, bhakti meaning serving Krsna with all your heart, with all the love you can muster.

The man just looked on, with tears swelling in his eyes, by now some others gathered around, and someone made a comment about this gentlemen being too emotional. I corrected the one who made the statement and said " he is only revealing what is in all of your hearts, because all your hearts are sad because you have forgotten your original relationship with Krsna. You should thank this boy for making you realize how sad your lives are without Krsna. The person just looked down. Everyone else nodded. For the next twenty minutes I answered questions and exchanged email addresses. When everyone walked away, I left alone with this man, and he said how could I thank you for your help, how can I thank you for your time. I pulled out Perfection of Yoga. Please take this book, read this knowledge and apply this into your life. If you ever need help please give me a call. With a big smile on his face, he thanked me and gave a donation.

"Go on spreading the sankirtana movement more and more. I am only one person, but because all of you have kindly cooperated with me, this movement has now become a success all over the world. Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krsna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefitted. If he reads the book he is benefitted still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person is benefitted. Even if one does not read the book but simply holds if and sees it, he is benefitted. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krsna consciousness he is benefitted. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literatures, he is also benefitted. Therefore sankirtana is the prime benediction for the age: krsna varnam tvisa krsna sango vangastra parsadam yajnaih sankirtana prayair yajanti sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32] - SP Letter May '77

"The living entity is the cause of his own suffering, but he can also be the cause of his eternal happiness. When he wants to engage in Krsna consciousness, a suitable body is offered to him by the internal potency, the spiritual energy of the Lord, and when he wants to satisfy his senses, a material body is offered." (Purport SB-3-26-8)

Partha Sarathi dasa

Pretoria to Durban, South Africa

I waited to check in for my flight to Durban and a young man was staring at me. He finally approached me, and asked me if I was a monk. I replied yes, I am a Hare Krishna. He went to say that he works at a new age yoga studio, and he had some questions for me. I sat next to him and just listened to what he had to say. He opened his heart to me; he started describing how he started practicing yoga to escape the pain in his heart from failed relationships, from the pain of disappointing his family. He expressed that he thought of suicide once. He was in tears as he was revealing this to me. He wanted to know if yoga is such a peaceful way of using your energy, then why does he feel that something is missing. He has been practicing for over six years and feels no difference in his heart.

I sat back and just listened, I could understand that this mans heart was heavy with the burdon of material life. When he finished, I asked him what does he want from life. He looked off into the distant lights and just shook his head. He said man; I just want to become happy. Can you help me please, can you show me happiness. I said Of course, that is my duty to help you. The reason your yoga has not worked is because you are missing the key ingredient, that ingredient being God. The object of yoga is to reconnect to Krsna. But better than practicing hatha yoga is to practice bhakti yoga, bhakti meaning serving Krsna with all your heart, with all the love you can muster.

The man just looked on, with tears swelling in his eyes, by now some others gathered around, and someone made a comment about this gentlemen being too emotional. I corrected the one who made the statement and said " he is only revealing what is in all of your hearts, because all your hearts are sad because you have forgotten your original relationship with Krsna. You should thank this boy for making you realize how sad your lives are without Krsna. The person just looked down. Everyone else nodded. For the next twenty minutes I answered questions and exchanged email addresses. When everyone walked away, I left alone with this man, and he said how could I thank you for your help, how can I thank you for your time. I pulled out Perfection of Yoga. Please take this book, read this knowledge and apply this into your life. If you ever need help please give me a call. With a big smile on his face, he thanked me and gave a donation.

"Go on spreading the sankirtana movement more and more. I am only one person, but because all of you have kindly cooperated with me, this movement has now become a success all over the world. Be assured that there is no more direct way to preach than to distribute Krsna conscious books. Whoever gets a book is benefitted. If he reads the book he is benefitted still more, or if he gives the book to someone else for reading, both he and the other person is benefitted. Even if one does not read the book but simply holds if and sees it, he is benefitted. If he simply gives small donation towards the work of Krsna consciousness he is benefitted. And anyone who distributes these transcendental literatures, he is also benefitted. Therefore sankirtana is the prime benediction for the age: krsna varnam tvisa krsna sango vangastra parsadam yajnaih sankirtana prayair yajanti sumedhasah [SB 11.5.32] - SP Letter May '77

"The living entity is the cause of his own suffering, but he can also be the cause of his eternal happiness. When he wants to engage in Krsna consciousness, a suitable body is offered to him by the internal potency, the spiritual energy of the Lord, and when he wants to satisfy his senses, a material body is offered." (Purport SB-3-26-8)

Partha Sarathi dasa

1966 May 19:
"Amavasya. Sunrise 4/42. Sunset 7/11. Moonrise 4/14. Paul paid $2.00 for Expenditure. Today one letter received from Mr. Paul C. Sherbert and he is replied also."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1971 May 19: "Yes, do not take too much foodstuffs; take so that no remnants are left. But do not throw away prasadam. Better to take a little less than to have leftover for saving. That is not good."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 19: "If you like I can come to Amsterdam. I like that country very much. There are many cows and this especially is pleasing to me so if you can arrange some big engagement there then I shall gladly come."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 19: "I am giving Rupanuga, Satsvarupa, and Bali Mardan the sannyasa order of life along with Karandhara. If my senior disciples wish to take sannyasa then I shall give it. But there is no urgency."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 19: "You must do the work I am doing. Therefore, this traveling extensively for GBC. If I did not travel there would be no nice organization. Traveling and preaching - that is the Sankirtana movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 May 19: "Things are looking very favorable for us, now we simply have to try even harder. Strongly push on this mission by printing and distributing our books in unlimited quantity."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 May 19: "Our real business is to print and distribute books. By doing this you are all becoming recognized by Krishna. Please continue. Don't become discouraged by any so-called problems."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 May 19: "This is your business. Krishna has given you some special talent and you are using it for spreading His glories. This is wanted. When I will be there so we can talk during my visit sometimes."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 5, Text 32 by Giriraj Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-05-15

TRANSLATION

On this earth there are four kinds of living entities, who are all created by Him. The material creation rests on His lotus feet. He is the great Supreme Person, full of opulence and power. May He be pleased with us.

PURPORT

The word mahi refers to the five material elements -- earth, water, air, fire and sky -- which rest upon the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Mahat-padam punya-yaso murareh. The mahat-tattva, the total material energy, rests on His lotus feet, for the cosmic manifestation is but another opulence of the Lord. In this cosmic manifestation there are four kinds of living entities -- jarayu ja (those born from embryos), anda ja (those born from eggs), sveda ja (those born from perspiration), and udbhijja (those born from seeds). Everything is generated from the Lord, as confirmed in the Vedanta-sutra (janmady asya yatah [SB 1.1.1]). No one is independent, but the Supreme Soul is completely independent. Janmady asya yato 'nvayad itaratas cartheshv abhijnah sva-rat [SB 1.1.1]. The word sva-rat means "independent." We are dependent, whereas the Supreme Lord is completely independent. Therefore the Supreme Lord is the greatest of all. Even Lord Brahma, who created the cosmic manifestation, is but another opulence of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The material creation is activated by the Lord, and therefore the Lord is not a part of the material creation. The Lord exists in His original, spiritual position. The universal form of the Lord, vairaja-murti, is another feature of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Download: 2009-03-28 - Giriraj Swami - SB 8.5.32.mp3

1966 May 19:
"Amavasya. Sunrise 4/42. Sunset 7/11. Moonrise 4/14. Paul paid $2.00 for Expenditure. Today one letter received from Mr. Paul C. Sherbert and he is replied also."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1971 May 19: "Yes, do not take too much foodstuffs; take so that no remnants are left. But do not throw away prasadam. Better to take a little less than to have leftover for saving. That is not good."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 May 19: "If you like I can come to Amsterdam. I like that country very much. There are many cows and this especially is pleasing to me so if you can arrange some big engagement there then I shall gladly come."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 19: "You must do the work I am doing. Therefore, this traveling extensively for GBC. If I did not travel there would be no nice organization. Traveling and preaching - that is the Sankirtana movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 May 19: "I am giving Rupanuga, Satsvarupa, and Bali Mardan the sannyasa order of life along with Karandhara. If my senior disciples wish to take sannyasa then I shall give it. But there is no urgency."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 May 19: "Things are looking very favorable for us, now we simply have to try even harder. Strongly push on this mission by printing and distributing our books in unlimited quantity."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 May 19: "Our real business is to print and distribute books. By doing this you are all becoming recognized by Krishna. Please continue. Don't become discouraged by any so-called problems."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 May 19: "This is your business. Krishna has given you some special talent and you are using it for spreading His glories. This is wanted. When I will be there so we can talk during my visit sometimes."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

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

rasa108@gmail.com

ys

Rasa Rasika dasa

HH Bhakti Caru Swami Maharaj recalls memories of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Srila Prabhupada Tagged: Videos

Dear Sir,

First of all its wrong to point out that the idea of atheism is to stop worrying and to enjoy life. you say you believe in the existence of god because you want to and atheists dont believe cuz they dont want to. Fine, nothing wrong with that. however, it doesn't necessarily mean atheists do so for "enjoying" life and to go have sex or to go around committing crimes. I'm an atheist and i believe in the well being of others(whether humans or animals) in this world as much as anyone else. yes, there is no fear of god in me, but still there is a fear of my very own morals, my own beliefs, and my own personality. For you to say atheists have no purpose in life is also wrong, the purpose might not be about going to heaven or hell (whatever god-believing people believe in), but still the purpose could be of making this world a better place as a human being without the fear of God. i dont want to believe in God cuz there isnt any reason for me to do so. i would never believe in it cuz God is what i've been told by people, not something i've experienced myself. i can go on to say i've four invisible beings, who cant be felt or experienced by anyone, always following me, could science proove or deny it? no, so does that mean there are really four invisible beings follwing me?? according to your description (abt science failing to deny existence of God), then it must be true that those four beings indeed exist, but do they? Notice i've not said i dont believe in religion, instead i've said i dont believe in the existence of God. i think this is the best things about hinduism, i can still follow the traditions, the values of hinduism to make myself and this world better, without having to really believe in God or go to temple.

just someone weird,
harsh

Thank you Harsh for your comment, over the next few days I'll try to respond to some of the issues raised.

(Comment was originally posted on The Heart of Atheism)

Before the Festival of Inspiration, a japa retreat was held in New Vrindaban. This is when devotees get together, stepping back from their day to day lives and focus on japa, including a day when they chanted 64 rounds. I have heard only good things from participants who came out of the retreat reenergized and recommitted to chanting their 16 rounds daily.

To hear Giriraj Swami speaking  during the japa retreat, click through to this web page.

Elkészült a New Vrindaban-i videó második része. Ezen a videón a korábbi templomok helyszíneit járjuk körbe.

“THE SCIENCE OF MEDITATION”

Lecture by Matsya Avatara Dasa

Naples, Castello Angioino, 20th December 2008

Conference “The Science of Meditation”

THE PSYCHIC ORIGIN OF BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY

Actions have an extraordinary effect on us, creating a sort of photocopy in the substance of the mind that becomes impressed into our psychic structure; everything we do, everything we say, think or desire, leaves a trace. Thus, following the path of the great teachers, who know the human psyche and the soul of the human being, and especially his real divine nature and his prison, as Plato describes, and without despising the physical body, we can say that we are where we are because we have wished, thought, spoken and acted in a particular way. This vision is only apparently deterministic because it constantly evolves: in the very moment we are speaking and you are reading there is already a modification in your understanding and in your samskaras.

There are obstacles to meditation. According to Patanjali, such obstacles are distraction (vikshipta), and the fogging of consciousness, the dullness, the fall of the level of attention (mudha), while selective and constant attention is essential for a good result in the practice of meditation.

INDIVIDUALITY

Another central aspect we need to consider about meditation is about individuality: each individual is only equal to himself, each one is an individual, each person has his own journey. There is no real equality in this sense, because each person has lived a different life and had different personal experiences.

I have created the four divisions of human society'

on the basis of the three influences of material nature

and of the activities connected with them; however,

know that although I am the creator of this system

I do not act within it, because I am unchangeable

At the time when the individual, the spiritual being, leaves a particular physical body, he travels in a psychic bubble constituted by samskaras and vasanas, where he is enclosed, and the stronger tendencies will be the ones that will specifically determine the nature of his subsequent qualities and therefore the place, the species, and other factors connected to another material body destined to be inhabited by that particular jiva. The psychic structure is thus different from the experiences we carry on from previous lifetimes and, lifetime after lifetime, determines different births even for twins born from the same ovum - what to speak for "mere" brothers, fellow villagers, or people from the same country or culture.

The influence of the three archetypal forces, or gunas, that constitute material nature, prakriti, and the luggage of the fruits of actions performed in recent or distant times, or karma, are different for each individual and therefore, when a person wants to approach the practice of meditation, we need to know him at a personal level because each person must be helped and guided in a special way, peculiar to him on the basis of his guna and karma.

Srila Prabhupada wrote to a devotee who was studying at Oxford University, that meditating on "how" Krsna is the taste of water is perfect mental speculation.(see Bhagavad-gita As It is 7.8)

Bem…..existem coisas que são difícies de explicar….mas vamos tentar. Há dois anos atrás eu e o bhakta Rui (actual Rupa Vilasa Dasa), estávamos brincando e resolvemos fazer um teatro, apenas par…

Jada Bharata: My dear King, talks of the relationship between the master and the servant, the king and the subject and so forth are simply talks about material activities. People interested in material activities, which are expounded in the Vedas, are intent on performing material sacrifices and placing faith in their material activities. For such people, spiritual advancement is definitely not manifest.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 11 Verse 2

Mark Hare Krishna Valley on your calendar for Saturday week!

Join the farm crew for a day away on May 30th.

The Valley devotees are inviting everyone to a working bee for the pleasure of Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai and Srila Prabhupada. Their goal is to clean the farm campus (dhama seva), and to prepare for Jagattarini Ma and Bhurijan Prabhu's June 5-8 sadhana retreat (vaisnava seva).

The peace of the Valley, the eagles, and the Stringbark forest await...and then there's Sri-Sri Gaura-Nitai's prasadam!

Phone Kesava dasa on 0405-577-453.  

Recently two crews of devotees spent a day each at Hare Krishna Valley cutting wood for winter fuel. I caught up with the Sunday crew.

Manigriva (wearing ear protection) felled a large Stringy Bark. When it is all cut up, the tree will provide a year’s fuel for the farm. The space the tree leaves will encourage others that were in its shade to grow. Adrian (black shirt), Ratnam (white shirt), and Visesh (red shirt) split large logs with a mechanical splitter. After the devotees filled the tractor trailer with the split wood Kesava (blue shirt) delivered the logs to the ashrams, where Visesh and Rhythm (striped shirt) stacked them to dry.

As I sit here on 18 May 2009 writing "Thought the for the Day" in Skopje, I am seeing from out of my window what you can see in the first picture below. This cross, called the Millennium Cross, is one of the nicest features of Skopje, Macedonia and is situated just south of the city on top of Vodno mountain. It is 66 meters high and is visible for a...

NICE SNAKES
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Narcisse, Manitoba

Manitoba holds the title for the largest convergence of snakes in the world. The red sided garter snakes hibernate in the multitudes in limestone bedrock dens for the same lenth of time that a bear hides for the winter. When the females come out of the dark den, the males approach them which causes an incredible cluster of snakes resembling balls of moving spaghetti.

The courtship of thousands upon thousands of them is what attracted a group of us to look in awe at one of mother nature's fantastic wonders. Most people have a phobia about snakes but these guys are quite harmless. Since the day was cool, overcast and rainy, we could not see the maximum effect of snake conglomeration, but we are told that the local Highway #17 is usually covered with snakes who make their journey for 10 to 20 km slithering around after mating to search for food. If you think this is creepy, how about at peak mating season when they crawl all over your feet?

I'm inclined to think of the numerous snake images outlined in the Vedas and how in almost all cases the snake portrays some act of benevolence. There are many support companions of Lord Shiva who are all cobras. Sesa-naga, the massive thousand-hooded snake that holds up the cosmic world and keeps a balance. And there is the ancient story of the collosal serpent Vasuki who assisted in churning the milk ocean in order toevoke some of the great treasures of the worlds. Snakes generally have a bad rap, but in the Vedic stories you find mostly positive profiles.

Ther snakes were a joy to see. No bites, no poison. The poison I feel comes from a plant. Yes, from the West Virginia trip I contracted some juices from poison ivy. So the rash is on. On my right arm.

Walking a nine kilometre stretch in Winnipeg became a challenge. Midway through came a nasty cold rain that would not let up for the entire day. The snakes were a highlight in addition to the Nine Devotions workshop conducted in the evening. There was a wonderful response from the people who attended.

9 kms

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.31 - Devotional service is tested in the fire of ordeal.

May 18, 2:50 A.M.

How did you do last night? I woke up once with a headache, took medicine and got back to sleep fairly early. I got up at 2:30 A.M. In the bathroom, I thought about my path of taking allopathic medicines. I decided it is the best of a bad bargain. I’m in touch with devotees who are taking alternative medicines. Some of these medications are extreme fads and far-out alternatives. These devotees may criticize allopathy, but I think it is the best, most modern, Western method, and Prabhupada approved it. When we get down to serious treatment of diseases, there’s nothing wrong with using the most advanced methods of modern science. I called for Narayana on the radio, and he came up fairly soon, put on my sling, gave me my medicines and a banana, applied some cream to my ankle and left me for chanting. Narayana was a little slow in setting up the deities and filling their water. I wasn’t left alone until 3:23 A.M.

4:11 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

I’ve finished eight rounds. That’s pretty good. The japa log has become a more terse report. I leave more general matters for the japa essay. There’s a TV commercial where the captain of a ship is alone in his room. There’s a storm brewing. A bell rings, and the crew calls him: “Skipper! You’re needed in the pilot house!” The captain stops what he’s doing and rushes to the pilot house. In the japa log, I report urgent matters, such as missing a round or falling asleep or making a general check-up to make sure I’m on my rounds. This morning has been good. I’ve been using the “just hear” process, which I report in the japa essay today. My chanting has been barely audible, not simply in the mind. That’s good, too. The speed has been rapid. I haven’t been thinking deeply about Radha-Krishna pastimes but staying on the railroad tracks with accumulation and attentiveness to the syllables of the mantra. All things considered, I feel content about it and await for the day when I can improve. I was alert and not the least bit sleepy.

Japa essay

Japa requires concentration. You obviously can’t do two things at once, such as watch television and chant on your beads. If you attempt that, it is offensive chanting and of little value. So you have to make up your mind, “This is my time for chanting,” and put other things aside. This includes not only other external activities but also the activities of the mind. The Bhagavad-gita says that controlling the mind is as difficult as controlling the wind. But there is a surprisingly simple way to control the mind while chanting. Prabhupada’s famous expression is, “Just hear.” To practice this, you should chant audibly. If for some reason you are not able to chant audibly, then you must chant the syllables of the mantra in your mind. (Prabhupada advised me to do this while working in the welfare office for chanting in addition to chanting my regular sixteen-round minimum.)

By deliberately hearing the sound of each syllable, your mind will be occupied, and if you do this vigorously, there will be no chance for the mind to wander to other realms of thought. This method is so simple that chanters may overlook it, but if you apply it, it is very effective. There are further stages in chanting, in which one thinks of the pastimes of Krishna, meditates on His qualities, and even comes to see His form, but they all follow from the basic practice of attentive hearing. The reason this works so effectively is that the holy name is Krishna, and the Hare Krishna mantra is invested with all His potencies. Anyone who practices the “just hear” method will find great improvement in his or her chanting.

Chanting is a frolic,

chanting is hard work.

The inner workings of the mind

must cooperate with the movements

of the mouth and teeth.

There’s a quiet satisfaction in completing your rounds

that equals nothing else.

You don’t feel it as a big fanfare,

but without it, you’re miserable.

With faith I follow the acharyas

who insist that chanting is the all-in-all.

Wth faith I follow the scriptures

which praise the chanting

as sublime.

It’s all a matter of faith

and experience, too.

As you increase your faith,

you increase your conviction,

and everything comes out fine.

I pray for the time when my chanting will be uplifted

to the higher realms described,

and in the meantime, I crawl steadily

like a caterpillar up the stem, step by step

without hesitation, without slipping.

You wait until one foot is well placed, and then

you place the next.

In this way you make progress.

6:36 A.M.

Just Narayana and I at the beach today. He was alert in chanting, but I sometimes grew drowsy, and he rubbed my back. Usually we go out for the walk at 6:30 A.M., but I decided to go out earlier to keep awake. You could hear winds roaring around the car, and heavy surf was breaking onto the beach. The sky was overcast. When we opened the car doors, we were met with gale-force winds that pushed at our backs as we walked the first one-half lap. It was very unusual.

I thought of the pastime of Krishna and the Trnavarta demon. Trnavarta was a personified tornado. He was a demon sent by Kamsa to kill Krishna. He swooped down from the sky and picked Krishna up at a moment when He was unattended by Mother Yasoda. Actually, Mother Yasoda had to put Krishna down because He was too heavy to hold. He was preparing Himself to combat with Trnavarta. The wind demon had created a dust storm all over Vrndavana, and he picked Krishna up and carried Him high in the sky. His intention was to drop Krishna from a great height so that He would be killed when He hit the ground.

But Krishna grabbed Trnavarta by the neckand manifested the yoga siddhi of becoming heavier than the heaviest. Trnavarta tried to get out of Krishna’s grip, but Krishna held onto his neck until the demon suffocated, then He dropped him from the sky. Krishna fell down with the demon and pillowed His landing on the demon’s body. Then baby Krishna began to climb and play on the demon’s chest. Krishna’s parents and relatives ran to the spot and were greatly relieved that Krishna was miraculously unharmed and the giant demon was dead.

The wind at the beach was nothing compared to Trnavarta’s whirlwind, but it tugged at our clothing and bodies and made it hard to walk. When we finished the half lap and turned around, the wind hit us in the face, and it became even more difficult to walk. We managed to get back to the car and take shelter inside. Narayana said, “We got double our value on this walk, due to the wind resistance.” I said, “Yes, I’ll count it as two laps.” Just yesterday, it was mild, without much wind. How quickly Krishna can change the situation! We’ll stay in the car a while and then head back to the house. We won’t attempt to feed the seagulls because the wind would just blow the crumbs away. How mighty are Krishna’s material elements. As the pastime of Trnavarta shows, He can subdue them without the slightest effort. As for us tiny jivas, we can be swept away at any moment.

“Sincerely Diana.” The jolly, scintillating hard bop of the Art Blakey Group—Lee Morgan, trumpet; Wayne Shorter, tenor sax; Bobby Timmons, piano; Jimmy Merritt, bass; Art Blakey, drums. Sincerely, Diana, he loves you. Aint that grand? And you love him. Diana was sincere. She wasn’t a cheater. And he was sincere to her. The music is full of life, just like their love, just like their lives. American jazz is superexcellent.

Now you know what I want to compare this to, don’t you? The love of Radha and Krishna. There was nothing more sincere than that. She took all risks to go see Krishna. Risked her social reputation, the scandal of disobeying Her husband, and even Her sanity, because when Krishna went away from Her, she lost Her composure. So She had to be sincere to enter a love relationship with Him. It’s not a light thing to love Krishna. You have to really be sincere. You’re tested in so many ways, so sincerity is the greatest thing in love of Krishna. There’s no question of His sincerity toward you. He’s made a promise for all time that anyone who loves Him will get back a millionfold the greatest love, that of the Supreme Personlity of Godhead, the sweet cowherd boy. Art Blakey sincerely pounds his drums. He’s dedicated his life to it. He did it until he lost his hearing and had to wear a hearing aid, and then he played the drums by automatic, pilot, like Beethoven. He would play the drum and know what it sounded like without actually hearing it. He went on playing because he was sincere.

“So Tired.” He’s not really tired. His body’s tired, but he goes on playing. It’s a song by Bobby Timmons, the never-tired pianist. He’s tired of being short-changed by cheaters, and he’s tired of insincere people, manipulators, bogus agents, record companies that don’t pay. But he’s not tired of playing music. So despite all the hassle, he’s never tired to play another gig.

Krishna’s never tired with us, either. He never gives up on us, no matter how many times we fail Him. He’s always ready to take us back. You’d think He’d be disgusted with us, but He’s too magnanimous for that. Sometimes He destroys some worlds, sends people to hell, but nevertheless, it’s never permanent. After some time, after remorse, He’ll take them back and bring them to the highest point. That’s Krishna, the magnanimous one. Jesus Christ was like that, too. He forgave everyone. Sometimes you get exhausted physically. You’ve done as much as you can, and you lie down exhausted. So tired. You wait for some refreshment in your body so that you can go on again. Life in this material world is hard. In the spiritual world, they don’t get tired. They can dance the equivalent of twenty-four hours a day without getting tired. We’re given just a little energy here, so that even if we’re blissful, staunch devotees, we can’t do much. We have only a little energy, and then we get tired. But as you build up your devotional service, you’re able to chant longer, you’re able to chant more beads. You don’t get exhausted. You’re able to read more books. It even happens as you grow older, so don’t be tired. Don’t give up. Play beautiful tunes, like Art Blakey’s. He never grew tired, even though he grew very old. He played that drum. He smashed that drum with all the muscles in his body. Let’s pledge never to get tired of serving Krishna.

“Yama.” “Yama” sounds like Lee Morgan’s girlfriend. I don’t know what it may be, but he’s playing his trumpet sweetly for six minutes and twenty-two seconds. He’s got a nice, melodic horn. Yama. Yamaraja. Now that’s a name we don’t like to hear. Yama is the king of death. He hands out the punishments to the sinful people. Here, you go take x numbers of years in Patala Loka. Here, you go to another loka, where you have to embrace a burning brass doll for your lust in this world. On this song, I don’t think they’re playing of Yamaraja because it’s too sweet. Yet Yamaraja has a place in this world. Krishna has so many agents, and they each serve Him in different ways. They each have a kind of loving service to Him, even when it seems cruel, like Yama’s. But if Yama is the name of a girl that Lee Morgan loves, that’s a different thing. It also ended in tragedy. She became jealous of him, brought a gun with her into Slug’s nightclub and shot him in the back. Wayne Shorter plays the tenor mournfully and with jive. These musicians know how to touch the feelings of the heart. The musicians play it together in lovely harmony, whatever the meaning of the title. It doesn’t matter. It’s the music without the words. It’s the music that comes from the heart, from their nimble fingers, their lungs, their dedication to the Lord. Yes, they’re dedicated to the Lord, and that’s why they play so sincerely and so hip. How could the quality of hip be given to a square person?

“When Your Lover Has Gone.” When your lover has gone, you’re bereft. You’re alone and sad, but they play it with soul and upbeat. That’s the meaning of the blues. You take the hard times and you weave it into something sweet and lively. Even the departed lover becomes a pretty tune. Not exactly pretty but hard and swinging. When your lover has gone, you burn in the fire of separation. You wait for him to come back. You wonder if he’ll ever come back. You remember the times you had together, and they make you cry. You experience sphurti, visions of being with him again. So in a sense, he’s never gone. That’s the way it is in Goloka. The lover never goes, but He stays in His bhava incarnation. They say it’s even better than when He’s with you. When your lover has gone, it’s bittersweet because he’s still with you, and yet, in the other sense, you don’t see him, you don’t touch him. It’s the great mystery of bhakti, and it’s created by Krishna. It stimulates love. Art Blakey pounds the drums of love in separation. He knows what it’s like. When your lover has gone, you want to play the drums frantically to forget, to remember, to be with. You want to insist that he’s not really gone, and so you play your drums. Please don’t say he’s gone. Please don’t say he’s gone. Let me see him again. When will his form pass the pathway of my eyes again? When will I be with him? When will he embrace me? You say it’s already happening? I don’t know how. But if you say so... Lord, if You say so, then I feel it. I feel You’re with me.

11:30 A.M.

My Dear Lord Krishna...

This is an intercessionary prayer I’m making on behalf of Baladeva Vidyabhusana dasa. He is going to Vrndavana today. I pray that You will take care of him and help him fulfill his goals. He is feeling much separation from Vrndavana dhama and wants to go there to revive his attachment and taste for living in Vraja. He also has some work there on my behalf for printing and distributing books. He needs a break from his routine here and feels he will find it in the place where he feels most at home—bhauma Vrndavana. Please help him to associate with his devotee friends there in a friendly and inoffensive manner. Allow him to become inspired by his stay in your holy dhama and return safely to my service in Lewes, Delaware. I hope he will find a special internal blessing during this visit, which he can bring back to the U.S.A. in the form of impressions of the heart. I know he will be able to endure the heat of the climate there, and he will enjoy honoring the mangos that are in season there. Some of the most fragrant flowers bloom at this time of the year, and he may be delighted to smell them and live with them. May he spend quality time at Krishna-Balarama Mandir, receiving darsana of Radha-Syamasundara, Krishna-Balarama, Gaura-Nitai, visiting Prabhupada’s samadhi and rooms, and taking part in Aindra’s kirtana.

Whenever Baladeva Vidyabhusana goes to Vrndavana, You offer him some special service. If You do that again, please do not detain him too long from returning. Narayana-kavaca dasa is taking care of me in Baladeva’s absence, but I expect Baladeva to return within a few months. Please let me have him back.

I will ask him to pray for me in Vrndavana so that some day I may return there also with some of the enthusiasm he has for staying in the dhama.

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #75→

A Disturbed World

Regina, Saskatchewan

Weather patterns are odd. By now prairie farmers would have seeds in the ground. Cold persists like never before although forecasters predict a baking summer ahead. In my mind rings a voice with a hindu accent humerously saying, “What to dooooo?”

Nature is running wild these days and so is the world. The national Post newspaper reveals front page news about the crazy race for North Pole occupancy. Canada and Russia have been neck to neck in the stake for what promises to be a northern region hotbed for minerals. The war in Sri Lanka appears to be drawing to a close leaving an indiginenous tamil community in disarry. Further agitation from Pakistan left one million people displaced from their homes in the haunting terrorism of the day.

Lots to think about while enroute by flight to home. Only, Kirtan, chanting, appears to appease the mind. An astounding devotee from Toronto Rupanuga, had arranged a satsang where monks and family folk had been invited for chanting at his home. It put a great cap on the day.

While I’m wearying with back pain and poison ivy rash I think of the much greater disturbed world around me. There is no guarantee that world unrest will end. It’s perpetual yet we do whatever we can to avert it or at least pray or act for damage control.

An Interesting return

Regina, Saskatchewan

Our ISKCON Centre in Regina is not in the best part of town. To reach there for conducting a “Nine Devotions” workshop I walked through the inner city section called Moccasin Flats. I spoke to a 20 year Old, Dwight, who expressed that although Saskatchewan the province, is experiencing a boom reaping the fortune of it’s Northern tar sands, this neighbourhood is more of a down. He revealed how one day someone (unknown to him) shot bullets at him. I had to question the authenticity of his story because sometimes it’s hard to distinguish a drug experience from reality.

In any event one of our participants at the workshop told of how when he first met Krishna Monks in the mid seventies he was encouraged to attend weekly sadhana, spiritual practice. One day he went to the building where the monks conducted programs but he saw they were gone. From that point on he left Krishna Behind until thirty five years later when he retired from government services last year. Years later he accidentally stumbled upon the ISKCON centre and noticed that the front yard needed sprucing up. He was shy to approach the current facilitators of the centre so he thought to render service quietly concerned he might not be accepted.

Subsequent to his finding and wishing to help he drove around a few times with purchased mums in his back seat. He drove around the block more than twice to make sure no one would see him. The police became suspicious due to the drug lording and prostitution that takes place in the neighborhood. The police stopped him and questioned him for doing these rounds.

He explained about, “the flowers for the church.” The evidence was there. In the back seat were flowers ready for planting so he was compelled to stop hesitating and get to gardening. Finally, Jagannatha, the centre’s president discouraged the stranger who for days had been cleaning the garden and was now adorning the front yard with some flowers.

This person has gone on to become the greatest help.

It is remarkable how some people become absent from devotional service and then come back decades later to be a full-fledged participant.

6 Km

WORLD DRAMA

Sunday, May 10, 2009 Toronto, Ontario

Today was a return journey back to Canada by automobile from West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York State. Before departing with the monks of Halifax, I received a flood of compliments from spectators of the “Eighth Boy.” Our crew had worked hard. We were a tight group and the play about Krishna flowed well from scene to scene. The hours put in paid off. I sat in the passenger’s seat content with the outcome of the previous night while enjoying the company of four monks with me who contributed to the success of the drama.

Jaya Keshava, an African American, played comic roles and dances. Monks Dustin and Dean danced to hip hop music as cowherd boys. And level-headed Jeff was our man on sound cues. We treated ourselves to a divergent trip to Niagara Falls. The Falls truly are a great wonder of the world.

Speaking of drama, the Queen Elizabeth Way, a major artery into Toronto, became blockaded by Tamil protestors. Emotions have been triggered within the community whose motherland, Sri Lanka is torn by civil war. My heart pours out to the Tamil community who are basically hard working people of a pious type. It is puzzling that such ethnic cleansing motives still exist in the modern age with the Tamils as the target.

When is the world not a drama?

When the blockade persisted, I insisted on walking back to the temple the rest of the way, to explore streets I never ventured to and time to think of the world of drama.

10 kms.

A neophyte devotee must faithfully serve the pure devotee, and he should be very much obedient and strictly follow the instructions. These are the signs of a devotee who is determined to achieve success even in the existing duration of life.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => SB 1.5.29

Manorama das of New Vraja Dhama made a video of his recent visit to New Vrindaban. View it here.

Recently on Skype Japa we discussed the importance of making our Japa the No.1 priority in our lives...it's easy to see how Japa is the cornerstone of our spiritual life and has a flow on effect into the rest of our sadhana and the rest of our day. Like a building has a cornerstone that supports the rest of the structure...so too Japa is the cornerstone of our spiritual life that supports the other areas of sadhana etc. If the cornerstone is strong, the rest is strong. Here is a nice quote to illustrate the importance of making Japa a priority:

I've recently started a really simple health program that anyone can incorporate into their life with remarkable benefits.

For a long time I've know about the benefits of the high energy raw food diet, which is a low fat diet based fruits and green leafy vegetables.

But the challenge has always been incorporating this into my life, without letting it take over my life.

The simplest way to get many of the benefits of the this diet is to have a green smoothie every day.

All you need to revolutionize your life is a blender, bananas, and some spinach.





Here's my basic recipe, 4 banana's, a big handful of spinach, and 2 cups of water.

That's the basic recipe, it is delicious, perfectly satisfying, and super healthy. Fruits and green leaves contain everything the human body needs in the ideal proportions.

Drink one or two of these concoctions a day and you will be well on your way to better health and more energy. And if your looking for a spring cleanse this is the way to go, three, five, or ten days on greens smoothies and you'll be all cleaned out.

One tip is that the bananas should be really ripe, with spots. This program is really simple you just have to buy lots of bananas and plan ahead so that you always have some ripe ones on hand. If you have extra bananas that are spoiling you can put them in the freezer for later use.

Of course you can add other type of fruits, other types of greens, juice, or even an avocados for a creamy consistency.

If you want to learn more about green smoothies just google green smothie, or better get a copy of Victoria Boutenko's newest book Green For Life, it is well worth the investment.

BY GITA GUPTA Source: Dandavats.com “Monthly Sankirtan Festivals are a great way to engage the entire congregation in book distribution,” says Vaisesika dasa. “At our temple, we combine the festival with a holy day on the Vaisnava calendar. Our meditation during the Monthly Sankritan Festival is that the sankirtan results are our special offering to the Lord.” Vaisesika [...]

On Sunday morning - Krishna astami - Veda Vyasa Priya Maharaja accepted three new disciples: Vrindavan Chandra dasa from Canberra (white chaddar), Jad Bharata dasa (yellow chaddar), and Sri Radha-Ballabha dasa (orange chaddar).

May they realise the depth of their Guru Maharaja's mercy by sharing his instructions with other suffering conditioned souls.

You can see a slide show of the initiation yajna here.

1966 May 18:
"Chaturdasi: Today I paid Paul for expenditure $1.25. One letter received from Atmasing Bombay. In the evening there was meeting 12 ladies and gentlemen attended. Contribution -- $7.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1971 May 18: "Presently we are holding huge Hare Krishna Festival. 35,000 to 40,000 people are attending daily for discourses. We are distributing prasadam. It is all Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 May 18: "It is very much encouraging that you have made final arrangements for going to Jerusalem. You all have my full blessings and may Krishna help you all in this noble venture. Just as soon as you arrive there, you can let me know."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1973 May 18: "I am going to Dallas because the weather here is not good for my health. I am going to get some sunshine. If the weather there is not suitable, I may come at once to Caracas. P.S. I have already come to Dallas and it appears nice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 May 18: "Thank you very much for your report. Now we can understand the most important point is that everyone - especially the leaders - must always stick to the basic regulative practices that I have given. So, now what can be done?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 May 18: "I am going to Dallas because the weather here is not good for my health. I am going to get some sunshine. If the weather there is not suitable, I may come at once to Caracas. P.S. I have already come to Dallas and it appears nice."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

1973 May 18: "Thank you very much for your report. Now we can understand the most important point is that everyone - especially the leaders - must always stick to the basic regulative practices that I have given. So, now what can be done?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

I exerted a little extra effort one night at the Coachella music festival (stayed out till midnight) in California. I got up at 4am to finish my rounds and do a morning program to have a charge for the day. When I finished my rounds I took a little rest and had this "dream".

Prabhupada's murti was there and I affectionately touched him on the shoulder. He moved in a surprised way and looked at me. I was stunned that he (the murti) moved and I asked Prabhupada if everything was all right. He said, "Yes." and got up off his chair. I was in ecstacy, I took advantage of this opportunity and asked him how I could serve him. There were people all around, like on sankirtan.

He said "Could you please stop someone so I can preach to them". He said this with such innocence and purity, almost like a cry from the heart. I tried stopping a couple of people with no success. I told Prabhupada that it easier for me to approach people that are already stopped. So we went to someone standing around. This person saw me, recognized me from before, and said "I want your 'Quest For Enlightenment book.' He gave me some change and I gave him the book. I then asked him if he would like to talk with an incredible spiritual master. He looked at me funny. I then looked around to find Prabhupada and couldn't find him anywhere.

From this "dream" I realized that Prabhupada is in his books. That he is in his words. And that above everything (at least for me) he really wants me (us) to distribute these books.

Sankirtan never is dry.

Wishing you all the best.

Your servant,

Paramesvara das (Text D:577024) --------------------------------------------

------- End of Forwarded Message ------

1966 May 18:
"Chaturdasi: Today I paid Paul for expenditure $1.25. One letter received from Atmasing Bombay. In the evening there was meeting 12 ladies and gentlemen attended. Contribution -- $7.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1971 May 18: "Presently we are holding huge Hare Krishna Festival. 35,000 to 40,000 people are attending daily for discourses. We are distributing prasadam. It is all Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1971 May 18: "It is very much encouraging that you have made final arrangements for going to Jerusalem. You all have my full blessings and may Krishna help you all in this noble venture. Just as soon as you arrive there, you can let me know."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

Antardwip das: There is going to be a really GREAT 24-hour kirtan broadcast from ISKCON Birmingham this weekend. Hear live kirtans from HH Sacinandana Swami, HG Pankajangri Prabhu, HG Madhava Prabhu, Aindra prabhu's Vrindavan group (Govinda, Gopal and Varun Prabhu's), The USA Mayapuri's (Visvambara, Bali, Kish and Akinchan Krishna Prabhu's), and leading devotees from around the UK.

I exerted a little extra effort one night at the Coachella music festival (stayed out till midnight) in California. I got up at 4am to finish my rounds and do a morning program to have a charge for the day. When I finished my rounds I took a little rest and had this "dream".

Prabhupada's murti was there and I affectionately touched him on the shoulder. He moved in a surprised way and looked at me. I was stunned that he (the murti) moved and I asked Prabhupada if everything was all right. He said, "Yes." and got up off his chair. I was in ecstacy, I took advantage of this opportunity and asked him how I could serve him. There were people all around, like on sankirtan.

He said "Could you please stop someone so I can preach to them". He said this with such innocence and purity, almost like a cry from the heart. I tried stopping a couple of people with no success. I told Prabhupada that it easier for me to approach people that are already stopped. So we went to someone standing around. This person saw me, recognized me from before, and said "I want your 'Quest For Enlightenment book.' He gave me some change and I gave him the book. I then asked him if he would like to talk with an incredible spiritual master. He looked at me funny. I then looked around to find Prabhupada and couldn't find him anywhere.

From this "dream" I realized that Prabhupada is in his books. That he is in his words. And that above everything (at least for me) he really wants me (us) to distribute these books.

Sankirtan never is dry.

Wishing you all the best.

Your servant,

Paramesvara das (Text D:577024) --------------------------------------------

------- End of Forwarded Message ------

Keyur Trivedi: ISKCON Sri Sri Radha Madhav, makati, Manila, Philppines. Like each year, even this year all the devotees headed by Baladeva dasa had prepared a replica of Mayapur Narasimha deva temple (the darshan is breathtaking and awesome)

Mahamuni Devi Dasi: We are very glad to inform you that in Denpasar, the capital city of Bali, now we have a new beautiful ISKCON temple namely “Sri Sri Jagannath Gauranga Ashram”.

Utpala das: ISKCON Nigeria made a leap forward on the 2nd/3rd of May 2009 as the yatra sets up a new council (The ISKCON Nigeria National Council- INNC).

Prabhupada Festival Committee: The Prabhupada Festival was founded as a venue for all followers, newcomers, and interested persons to come together to learn about and glorify Srila Prabhupada and His accomplishments.

Pandava: If you're getting tired of having the same ho-hum weekend and are looking for an interesting and possibly dangerous situation whilst stuffing your face with good grub, check out the local hare Krishna scene.

By Ila devi dasi

By the grace and mercy of SriSri Radha-Madhava, Lord Nrsimhadeva and Sri Pancha-Tattva, we are launching the new Mayapur Harinama and Food For Life Website.

By Rita Gupta

“Monthly Sankirtan Festivals are a great way to engage the entire congregation in book distribution,” says Vaisesika dasa. “At our temple, we combine the festival with a holy day on the Vaisnava calendar.

By Janananda Gosvami

We want to come up with something that is practical, enthusing, long lasting, effective, uniting, and all the other positive adjectives you can think of. Especially however, we would like to have standards that would please Srila Prabhupada. After all at the end of the day what matters is: “Would we do it in front of Srila Prabhupada?”

King Rahuguna: O my dear lord, you are the friend of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the friend of all living entities. You are therefore equal to everyone, and you are free from the bodily conception. Although I have committed an offense by insulting you, I know that there is no loss or gain for you due to my insult. You are fixed in your determination, but I have committed an offense. Because of this, even though I may be as strong as Lord S'iva, I shall be vanquished without delay due to my offense at the lotus feet of a Vaishnava.

Srimad Bhagavatam - Canto 5 Chapter 10 Verse 23

It's a visionary, dynamic, and even confrontational short film on where we get our stuff from-"The Story of Stuff" by environmental activist Annie Leonard.

If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, click here to view it on their awesome and interactive website.

You can also click here to read a recent piece from the New York Times on the effect "The Story of Stuff" is having in America's classrooms.

I was reading through the BR-1600CD's manual at lunchtime, boning up on the compressor / limiter settings to avoid the clipping in the vocal tracks that we got on Saturday, and I discovered something interesting.

Take a look at this excerpt of a signal path diagram from the back of the manual (click it to see a larger view):

According to this the input passes through the gain control (input sens), then through the insert effect block (compressor / limiter), level calibration, and input level (the three blocks in the diagram, whose labels have been omitted by cropping), then splits in three.

One signal path goes straight to the disk - recorded. Another signal path goes into the reverb send, the output of which is later merged with the third signal path which passes through the pan pot, then muxes into a chorus effect send and a dry signal. The dry signal, the reverb return and the chorus return are then mixed and presented at the line out.

So I can do a mono live mix by using the pan pot as an additional volume control.

I put the signal in and make it as hot as I can using "Input Sens" (Mic Gain). This gives me the hot signal to disk.

Then I connect the right channel of line out to the PA, and this becomes my live mix output.

I can then use the pan pot as a volume control. When it's hard left (in the 0 position) the signal is panned hard left, so the right channel gets nothing - effectively volume 0. When it's panned hard right (in the 10 position), the signal is panned hard right - effectively volume 10. Since the signal is as hot as I can get it to disk, there should be no need to boost anything beyond max output. Since the panning is on a separate signal path to that recorded on disk my live mixing via panning will not affect the recording at all.

The drawbacks I can see with this is that there will be no per-channel EQ, and the pan control screen is different from the input level monitoring screen, a button press away. That's not a problem if I'm dedicated to engineering (which I think I'll do next time), but it could be challenging if I'm trying to play something as well.

I'll let you know how it goes.

What do we think of when hear of or see pebbles -- babbling brooks, graveled roads, playgrounds, mountainous trekking paths? Ideally they will send our thoughts to Krishna, thinking like the gopis, who thought: ""Oh, Krsna's feet are so soft! Now He's walking on the rough ground, and the sharp pebbles are pricking His soles. So He must be feeling some pain." (Teachings of Queen Kunti, Ch 7)

New York City – More than two hundred devotees gathered together to welcome the small (chota in Sanskrit) deities of Sri Sri Radha-Murlidhar to a Hare Krishna temple here, where They join larger deities of the same name. The last time the two sets of deities were worshiped together was more than twenty years ago, in Their original home in Cleveland, Ohio. The two day festival, held on May 2 and 3, featured abhishek (sacred bathing of the deities), kirtan, and devotees sharing memories of the deities over the years.

Mayapur - cooking arrangements at Gada Prasadam Hall

Other sessions included a workshop by conference co-organizer Romapada Swami on outreach opportunities in the corporate world, an analysis of ISKCON's internet outreach by Pancharatna Dasa, and Caru Dasa's dynamic powerpoint presentation on – what else – powerpoint presentations. The conference also featured sessions on interfacing with the academic world (Radhika Ramana Dasa) and the need for ISKCON temples to "go green" (Bhakta Nitin).

I'm back from my weekend interstate teaching trip to two of La Trobe University's campuses.

My plate is full at the moment, so more on my cookery adventure tomorrow. Oh, by the way, my chilies did fine without me. Here's the latest plateful.

May 17

I had a pretty good night. I woke up only once and didn’t get a headache. I got up at 2:30 A.M. and began chanting at 3:00 A.M. with a clear head.

Early-morning japa log

Japa went pretty well. I wasn’t drowsy but alert. I kept a good speed—six minutes a round. My mind stayed fixed on the syllables of the holy name. I’ve been in a slump lately, so I didn’t pull out all the way to thoughts of Radha and Krishna, but I did have a feeling for the japa beyond mere accumulation of rounds. Auspicious.

Japa essay

It’s such a good thing when you chant your japa decently. It brightens your day. You feel hope for the ultimate goal. After all, chanting is the prime necessity, the easiest way to achieve love of God. In fact, it’s the only way in Kali Yuga. I was happy this morning to do a decent job. Now I’ll go on to chant another eight rounds at the parking lot. I hope I don’t fall asleep. Keep your determination, your prayers. Keep clicking away at a rapid pace, and stay alert. Chanting may not seem like a big celebration, like eating pizza or having a festival, in its quiet way, it is actually the happiest time. The greatest self-satisfaction, you feel at peace.

Japa japa japa,

The repeating mantras roll.

When you’re awake, you’re happy,

your heart feels warm with joy.

Japa japa japa,

repetition without boredom

the repetition of the heartbeat

without which you will die.

Japa japa japa,

may I chant until my last breath.

Japa japa japa,

you put me to rest

but never resting, always more,

moving on to another life with

japa japa japa.

6:28 A.M.

There are three of us in the car. Narayana-kavaca and I are chanting and Baladeva is snoring in the back of the car. We just went out for a walk but were besieged by a plague of little biting bugs. This is the first time they have appeared. Bala says if we go out for our walk later, when there’s a breeze, the bugs will be gone, but I wanted to avoid Baladeva’s snoring. It is good to have Narayana here. Today he will be cramming caretaking lessons from Baladeva, who leaves tomorrow.

The sky is overcast with just a little lining of sunlight high in the clouds.

Yesterday I read a book by the poet Stanley Kunitz that Haridasa sent me. It contains poems and essays about his lifelong dedication to keeping gardens. He was a hundred years old. In his essays, he compared gardens to poems and wrote about the beauty of words and poems. He wrote free verse. He said the job of making a poem is cutting away the extra words and yet retaining the essence. I was excited about his insight about words and his love for them. It encourages me to try to write as he says in my prose poems. It was also encouraging in demonstrating how contemporary writing can be used in Krishna consciousness. The English translations of the Six Goswamis’ poetry touches the heart and soul. But I don’t think we can imitate those translations nowadays. We need new forms for new times. Our contemporaries would like to hear Krishna consciousness expressed in the actual voices we use nowadays, but with the spiritual heart intact.

I am looking forward to discussing poetry with Narayana-kavaca and discussing his poems. I’m also gaining confidence in my prose poems through the responses I have been getting.

It’s still too early to go back to the house at our normal time. We have to choose between waking Baladeva or tolerating the loud snoring. I think I will let him sleep more. He was up most of the night making phone calls and talking and preparing for his trip. So we will go back early.

“Guess I’ll Hang My Tears Out to Dry.” This has a sentimental title, unless you’re willing to go with it. The man or woman is sad because they have lost their lover. Of course, there are other reasons to cry also. Sometimes one cries hot tears joy. Cold tears are tears of pain and sorrow. This is a ballad played by the Keith Jarrett Trio. They’re playing it very softly and in a sorrowful mood, or “hanging the tears out to dry.” You can’t just cry forever. You have to let it calm down eventually, return to some normalcy. But the gopis couldn’t stop crying. Neither could Mother Yasoda. She cried until she became blind. When Krishna left them, they were in such sorrow out of separation that they couldn’t “dry.”

What about ourselves? We rarely have tears. Sometimes we cry tears of self-pity or tears that we’re just sorry we’re not better devotees. That’s rare, and that’s good. Those tears dry eventually also. Tears are good. It’s good to cry for Krishna. The singer of this song is resigning himself or herself to the absence of reconciliation but just coming down to earth without their lover. Better that we “soak our couch with tears,” as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura said. You can’t actually do it, but that should be the mood. Gaura Govinda Maharaja used to say that Krishna consciousness was a school for crying. Our heart should be crying for the Lord. Crying out, as in crying out in kirtana, is another way to cry. Cry like the child cries for its mother. That’s the recommended method for chanting Hare Krishna. So Krishna consciousness is not a staid thing. It’s a yoga of emotion. We want to reach Krishna and Radha, and for now, we can’t. Nothing to do about it but let the tears dry and hope they’ll come back again. Don’t resign yourself to just forgetting the whole thing and saying that you’re not capable of crying to Krishna and there’s no use entering that emotion. Some people fake crying just to get a reputation. We’re not talking about that. We’re not talking about crocodile tears. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow, tears to Radha and Krishna. Jarrett plays it very softly and calmly, not with an hysterical kind of crying. He’s quietly sad, thinking he’d better let his tears just hang out and dry. This is a particular stage he’s in right now. He’s already been crying monsoon-like, uncontrollably, and now he’s saying, “Better to just let them dry.” He’s calmed down. But I advise you to never let them dry, to always hope you can cry, if not constantly, then from time to time, when the mood comes upon you in a particular kirtana, during a particular lecture, during a particular meeting, during a particular darsana. Let the tears come out again. And remember your heart’s desire, be it cold or hot.

“On Green Dolphin Street.” This is a well-known jazz piece I already wrote about. But here’s a new rendition by Keith Jarrett. It’s nifty. It’s elegant. It’s real jazz. It’s upbeat. They’re going to meet on Green Dolphin Street and go out to dinner. That’s one guess. Or it’s the place where there’s an apartment where friends used to live the best days of their life. They always remember. “The best years of my life were spent with you on Green Dolphin street.” That’s why it’s upbeat. Those were the best years. He used to bring her flowers, and she hugged him. In Krishna Loka, Green Dolphin Street is located in the kunja. Krishna sends messages to the gopis during breakfast time that tonight, the rendevous shall be at such-and-such kunja. Radha is ecstatic to receive the news and gets Herself ready, decorated by Her sakhis. On a full-moon night she wears white, and in a new-moon night She wears dark so She won’t be detected. Sometimes She’s left brokenhearted when Krishna doesn’t show up at “Green Dolphin Street.” But He does not just to increase Her maha-bhava. They have Their secret rendevous, and it’s a place of joy. It’s the greatest joy that ever was and ever will be. The place where They meet. That’s why he plays it so sweetly and upbeat. His fingers are nimble, even though he’s old. There’s no slowing down this musician. His hair is cut short and he grimaces with a kind of joy as he presses down on the keys, surrounded by his fellows. Wonderful how he can play so fast and melodic. He tinkles down a whole row of keys, and then comes back again. The gopis surround Krishna and Radha with similar music, played on all kinds of merry instruments. It gives Krishna pleasure. It’s not easy to give Krishna pleasure. You may think you’d like to, but that doesn’t mean you can. You have to have the adhikar, the qualification. You’re very fortunate if you can go to the rendevous and be allowed to take part and try to increase the pleasure of the Divine Couple. You can do it by serving Them delicious food, like sweet rice. And if it’s very hot, you can fan Them and suggest to Them which foods might be Their favorites. Do everything in your power to encourage Them to have fun. That’s the job of a gopi manjari and a sakhi, to meet in the kunja and help the Divine Couple until such time as They want to be alone. Then you come back again and assist Them some more.

Did you ever have a Green Dolphin Street? Was there ever a place in your life that you met someone and it was sweet? Was it the first temple you went to, 26 2nd. Ave., when you sang with the Swami with just a few boys? You’ll never forget that place. You assisted in the kirtana, and you actually cried tears. You asked Prabhupada if it was all righ to cry. He said yes. Sometimes we don’t do it in public, but it’s all right. Go ahead and cry for Krishna. So we remember that rendevous spot and hope to return to it or a new spot with all the essence of the original.

“Only the Lonely.” Only the lonely know what it’s like. They say that Frank Sinatra’s exclusive art was loneliness He sang. “Saturday night is the loneliest night of the week.” Lonely people have had lovers, and now they’ve lost them. They’re not confident they can get it again. Maybe it will never happen again. Loneliness is a sad state. All you’ve got is memories, burnt-out memories. There’s a popular song, “The way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea, oh no, they can’t take that way from me.” There are some memories that they can’t take away even if you are lonely and without the person.

The residence of Vraja were lonely. Only they knew the viraha, separation from Krishna. Only they knew the core of loneliness because they loved Krishna so much. It’s a great mystery in Krishna consciousness how this loneliness is actually a great treasure to them, because when they weren’t with Krishna, they were actually with Him in a more intense way. As Lord Caitanya, He told His mother that He used to go and visit her every day and take lunch from her, and so she should be confident of it and not cry. But she was lonely without her Nimai. Krishna asked Sudama to wait for him and that he would come back to Vraja. Sudama stood there and waited and waited for many years, but Krishna never returned. His heart broke with loneliness. But it’s that viraha, a gem of joy within the lonely heart because he recalls, and in that way he’s actually present more intensely with his Beloved. Yet only the lonely feel such pain. They have no more times with their beloved. He’s gone. Life is not worth living. That’s how they feel. It’s hard to understand. You have to be a lover.

“A Night in Tunisia.” This is hard bop by Art Blakey. The composition is by Dizzy Gillespie. During the ten years when jazz musicians sold out—even Miles Davis—and went over to play Fusion, Art Blakey remained true to hard bop. His drums are like thunder. His groups were like school groups. I mean he would have one band, and then they would graduate and form their own bands. In the introduction to one piece, he said, “I’m playing with some of the greatest jazz musicians in America,” and he introduced them. They were all young men, like Horace Silver and Lee Morgan. He said, “I like to play with the young ones, and when these wear out, I’m going to get me a new set. It keeps the mind active.” The soloists are terrific. The saxophone is playing hard. Wayne Shorter. Then young Lee Morgan, who was later shot by his mistress at Slugs nightclub, playing brash and saucy. What is this mideastern Tunisia? It’s got an exotic mood to it. Jimmy Merritt plays the bass, low and rhythmic. Nothing fancy, keeping on the straight beat. More exotic. Art Blakey hits a stick behind him and keeps that pedal, always that pedal, that Art Blakey pedal, as consistent as a metronome. And then his thunder. He used to instruct others, “Don’t play the drum, hit the drum.”

Krishna had mad celebrations like this, too, deep in the forest of Vrndavana when His parents weren’t around. He’d play with the gopis, and sometimes they’d get intoxicated. The sakhis would play the rhythm of many mrdangas and whompers and karatalas, and Radha played Her exquisite stringed instrument, and they would dance like wild people, spinning around and around, more exotic than any mideastern city. The drums thunder together, many pairs of gopis’ hands on the left- and right-hand side of the mrdanga, making a suitable rhythmic storm for all the other gopis to dance for Krishna. Bobby Timmons plays piano. Lee Morgan finishes it out with a wonderful flourish, and everyone else stops and listens and is enchanted, like the Vrajavasis who hear Krishna’s flute. He carries it out, He improvises, He swirls it. All nonmoving living entities start to move, and the moving living entities stand still. The calves stop chewing the grass and stop drinking the milk from their mothers’ udders. Siva and Brahma, who are expert in music, become puzzled by this music, and they can’t understand it. Can you? Can you understand Krishna’s flute? If you can, you’re the most fortunate person in the world. If you can understand Krishna’s flute, you’re in more than heaven. You’re in Goloka, the epitome of existence. Just by hearing.

My Dear Lord Krishna...

I’m sitting here thinking of what to write to You. I’ve written many prayers, and there has been repetition. The poet Stanley Kunitz states, “I wonder if those birds ever tire of their song? I wonder if they ever think, ‘Today, I’ll try a new song’?” The poet wonders, but I would guess his conclusion would be that the bird doesn’t think, “Today I will try a new song.” The birds are not humans. They are given their songs by God, and they are content to repeat it.

But I feel a pressure to write something new to You. Often, however, I think of the same things. I ask for Your mercy, I ask for You to make me strong. When I do think of something with a new angle, it always pleases me. But I wonder if it is a stylistic change of the same message?

Is it wrong to say the same thing to You every day? The Jesus Prayer repeats the same words: “My dear Lord Jesus, please have mercy on me, a sinner.” And the Hare Krishna mantra is pure repetition, at least externally. I don’t think it’s wrong to write the same thing—my dear Radha, my dear Krishna, please let me serve You—provided the feeling is sincere and newly offered with each breath. If we repeat a prayer mechanically without thinking, then that is not a real prayer. But calling again and again, like a man trapped in a well calling for help, is not monotonous.

We are creative beings, and for the pleasure of ourselves and for the pleasure and entertainment of others, we like to create new expressions. Srila Rupa Goswami wrote Vidaghda-madhava, a beautiful drama, but then Krishna told him that he should write another (Lalita-madhava). Krishna promised that it would come out wonderfully. Variety is the mother of enjoyment. Therefore, varied prayers to You also please You, and simple repetitious prayer may also please You when it is done from the heart.

My writings to You are not highly varied, and I fear a repetitious cry may not come from a deep enough place in my soul. But I do desire to write to You regularly. What can I do? How can I please You? I know my writing must be accompanied by action in Your service, and that is one way to solve my dilemma. I can remember the many orders You have given and try to carry them out. Then I can write how I fared in my attempt. I can write a kind of diary to You, telling You of my adventures in Your service.

I can also vary my writing by telling varoius pastimes I have read in books like Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the end, however, I think it is not novel and new ways of experience that You want me to make but honesty and consistency and devotion. Let me be like the forest wood thrush who repeats his beautiful notes to You with hearty enthusiasm. Let me not ever grow silent out of tiredness or lack of desire. “Jaya Radhe! Jaya Krishna! Jaya Srila Prabhupada!” Let these cries sincerely come from me regularly with appreciation and ardor for Your qualities.

Have I made myself clear? And is it all right to with to be a creative poet/writer and scholar, to praise You with new forms of writing? The topics about You are so numerous that the thousand-headed Ananta Sesa could not complete them even if he tried to do so for thousands of years with his thousands of mouths. So I cannot complain of a shortage of subjects. My complaint is dullness and lack of intelligence. But in the absence of my being able to write many wonderful new odes to You or to tell of my many endeavors to reach You, I pray that You give me the sincerity to repeat my desire to serve You in this world and the next. The Hare Krishna mantra wil be sufficient. A simple cry—Oh Radha, oh Krishna, please let me serve You.”

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #74→

This entire planet is God's country, and we are all God's children. So why we should be restricted from traveling? This is due to man's false sense of being the lord of all he surveys. Because of these artificial boundaries instead of it being easy for us to travel from Sofia, Bulgaria to Skopje, Macedonia, we have to arrange for the devotees from...

Here's the second kirtan from Saturday night. This one is for afficionados of live kirtan only methinks, due to the nature of the recording.

Daya maya dd, who sings lead on this kirtan

For this kirtan we changed lead vocalists, but I didn't change any of the settings on the desk. However, Dayamaya's voice is a lot hotter than Krishnapada's, and as a result the main vocal is even more clipped that the first track. There is not much that can be done about that, and it really detracts from what would otherwise be a more enjoyable listening experience.

It's a challenge to strike the right balance in a live kirtan situation - on the one hand you need to set levels and mic positions, on the other hand you don't want to turn a live kirtan into a recording session with everyone waiting interminably while you fiddle with knobs.

This track has the following:

1. Main Vocal (Dayamaya) - Rode NT-1A
2. Harmonium - Shure SM57
3. Room mic Left - Sony ECM-MS957
4. Room mic Right
5. Room mic - Shure SM58

Number 5 was the backing vocal mic from the previous number, left sitting in the middle of the room.

If I had been able to set things up for this I would have put a couple of condenser mics on the drums to have more control over their EQ and stereo balance.

I don't know what can be done with the voice to mask the clipping - perhaps some effect that makes it more abstract (a candidate for some T-pain effect experimentation, perhaps...). Currently it's not a faithful reproduction of the voice at all. It sounds "loud" and distorted at any level and harmonic overtones have been lost due to clipping.

I've mixed this as more of a live kirtan and tried to use the energy of the drums (djembe and mrdanga) to drive the track, since I can't rely on a strong melodic component - the primary one, Dayamaya's voice, was badly recorded.

I used my bass djembe - a fiberglass one from Indonesia which is tuned around a low C#/D. The mrdanga is Krishnapada on a fiberglass Balarama. The interaction of the two is quite good, especially when one drops out for a moment, then comes back in (for example at about 9:30).

Here's the mp3:

• Daya maya at Josh's Party (mp3, 20mins, 28MB)

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.

However, we do have the recording of the morning program with the devotees from Montreal featuring a special Srimad Bhagavatam class by HG Brhat Mrdanga das. Please click here to view the class!

We will resume with live broadcasts and videos with the upcoming Sunday Feasts!

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.8.30 - Wherefrom does bhakti come?

This Saturday a small group of Welsh Valley devotees gathered I was unable to take any photo’s due to the fact that I had been talked into playing, a ploy to stop me filming I guess Here is a picture of the Prasadam made for the program, by Krishna’s mercy I managed to get it all done [...]

We all make mistakes, and recently I was reflecting on being corrected by others. It’s easy to give good advice, but often very difficult to take good advice. As soon as somebody gives us feedback or criticism, the knee-jerk reaction is to defend ourselves, find fault in that person, and in some way justify how their comments are quite inaccurate and invalid. One who creates a shell around his persona, shutting the doors to good advice, will find it very difficult to overcome all the impurities in the heart. However, the spiritualist who is able to see divine instruction coming through all people, in all circumstances, is able to very quickly advance in the spiritual journey.

Last week I unnecessarily became angry at someone and wrongly accused them of something. I felt quite frustrated and disappointed with myself. Knowing the principles and qualities of a spiritualist, how could I allow myself to descend to that level? I thought I was a good natured, reasonable, noble person, but then I realized… I may be on the spiritual path, but I am definitely a ‘work in progress’.

Sometimes a pillow can look very clean, but as you strike it, clouds of dust start appearing. Similarly, as we practice spirituality with seriousness and sincerity, the gross and subtle imperfections within our own character become more and more apparent. Before we can remove the dust, the dust must surface. Thus, through observing our own character, and also being open to the observations of others, we can understand that we’re not perfect and must diligently engage in the spiritual process to become purified in character.

In psychology they talk of ‘Unconscious Incompetence’ – the idea that someone is acting improperly and is not even aware of it. One then progresses to the stage of ‘Conscious Incompetence’, where one has actually realized the problem and come to terms with it. From there, one makes a concerted effort to act in the proper way – this is known as ‘Conscious Competence’. Finally, the proper behavior becomes so ingrained in the consciousness, that one does it automatically. This perfected stage is known as ‘Unconscious Competence’.

11:15 A.M.

My Dear Lord Krishna...

I want to pray to You today to ask You to give me the desire to hear and chant about Your pastimes. I think this is the greatest blessing I could ask from You. This is the blessing possessed by Your great devotees. More than anything else, I want to be with You by the process of hearing about You and chanting Your names. Once I possess this gift, people naturally want to give it to others. But unless they are consumed with the desire to know You and be with You, they will not have a desire to share it with others. It is like that even in the material world. If a person is very excited about baseball, he wants to be with others to hear about baseball, to talk about it with them, attend baseball games, watch the results and root for his home team. There are many radio and television shows and newspapers where various sports are discussed, and people participate in it with great interest. They phone in to experts and give their opinions and ask questions about the latest news in sports. They live in a whole world of interest in whatever sport it may be—horse racing, NASCAR, baseball, football, and so on. And the same is true with those people who are political “junkies.” They cannot hear enough about the latest ruse, scandals and prophesies about politics around the world. How do they gain these interests? They do it by associating, perhaps at an early age, with others who have a burning interest in these matters, or they gain it by a natural proclivity to take part in the worlds of mundane interests. To gain an interest in You, oh Lord, one has to also associate with Your devotees, read the scriptures with Your activities and take part in the sadhana practices, which inspire them even more to take part in krsna-katha. I have reached a certain stage where I am very interested in Your activities, and I want to develop my relationship with You. But it is not enough. It is not all-consuming. The great devotees hear of nothing else, they speak of nothing else, they take part in nothing else but talks of You and Radha and Your associates. They are consumed with the desire to tell others about this to increase the interests in Krishna consciousness around the world. They have this desire because they know that Krishna consciousness is the most valuable thing in the world. They have become convinced of this, and now it has become their entire life. I want to increase my consuming interest in You so that I become a person like Narada Muni, who always sings Your glories and tells others of Your glories. Can You help me to increase my absorption in You? I know You can do it, because You can do anything. You an even decrease a person’s interest in You if they are offensive. You can certainly increase a person’s interest in You if they show signs of desire to be Your unflinching devotee. But will You do it? I know this depends in large part on my own willingness and interest to be consumed by Your pastimes. When You see my interest is increasing, then You will gladly increase it more and fill me with interest in You.

Much of this has to do with learning, education in the importance of Vedic knowledge. When I come to understand that I need You more than anything else and that nothing else is of importance, then naturally my interest will increase, and You will reciprocate with Me. Prabhupada has said that religion without philosophy is fanaticism, and philosophy without religion is dry mental speculation. I must increase my knowledge of the importance of Krishna consciousness so that You will fill my mind with a desire to love You more. Please fill my philosohy with the desire to know You and make my religion a burning desire for bhakti.

I am petitioning You for all these improvements because I believe that nothing can take place without Your mercy. I pray for Your mercy to make me a better devotee. I want to improve, and yet, frankly, I do not see myself improving rapidly, or at all. What choice do I have, then, but to pray to You for impetus to work? Please enlighten me in one way or another in the importance of working for Krishna consciousness and striving by my own sweat and blood to improve. My exclusive concentration on Krishna consciousness must come from my own conviction, and You must be the convincing agent. Please forgive me for this helplessly dependent prayer, but I see no other way than to ask for Your mercy. Please make me strong. Please make me desire to be strong. Please claim me as Your own.

the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #73→

Amala Kirtan das singing Hare Krishna bhajans during the Every Town and Village global broadcast.  This was an event where a bunch of different temples joined together and performed bhajans around the world.  This segment is from... Dallas. 

Dallas, TX
2009-03-28

Download: 2009-03-08 - Every Town and Village - Amala Kirtan das.mp3

I think my love affair with Nrsimhadeva began when I heard the words of HH Sacinandana Swami. It was a few years ago when I was fortunate enough to be celebrating Nrsimha Caturdasi at New Simhacalam in Germany. Nrsimhadeva there is unlike any other. In fact, that murti is one of the few, if not the only one, where Prahalad Maharaja is actually sitting on his lap. As we were celebrating and meditating on Nrsimhadeva, HH Sacinandana Swami said that we should always think of Nrsimha as our benevolent father. Yes, he can be fierce and very angry, but just like a lioness provides all affection and protection to her cubs, he provides all strength, shelter and love to his devotees.

Those words had a very deep impact upon my heart and so for me, that Nrsimhadeva in New Simhacalam is like a father to me. He is sweetly fierce and extremely merciful.

Fast forward another three years, when I had a chance to attend my first Nrsimha Caturdasi with the beautiful and wonderful Nrsimhadeva in New Vrndavana. We have always had a picture of this Nrsimhadeva on our altar ever since I was little, but I rarely ever had a chance to spend a lot of time with him in person. He is so regal and majestic and as my friend Mandali puts it, "He is a warrior!" This year, I got to render some very special service for him and got to know him a little bit better. He is very soft-hearted and listens very attentively to the heartfelt desires of his devotees.

But now any meditation Nrsimhadeva is not complete without remembering the active and wonderful Nrsimha in Mayapur. For close to 4 months, every morning I got to pray and marvel at that multi-armed ugra Nrsimhadeva. Although many find him extremely fierce and angry, I have always found him to be so cool! He always looks like he's going to jump off the altar. How wonderful would it be to have the eyes to see him dance jubilantly in the Radha Madhava temple room. He is always dressed so beautifully, but my favorite outfit is when he's wearing his pants. It gives the devotees a glimpse of how spectacular he is.

After spending so much time in Mayapur, I started developing the desire to worship Nrsimhadeva. He is my ever-protector and I wanted to reciprocate by serving him more personally. Then somehow through the mercy of the devotees, he came in his sila form. And so now, I'd like to introduce the newest member of my family: Sri Sri Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva. Although I thought that he would protect me and take care of me, apparently my dear Lord had other plans. Instead he is my baby Nrsimhadeva who is constantly demanding my attention and time. I personally think he's speaking too much with my Radha Damodara who are exactly the same way!

But its so wonderful to be able to serve him everyday. If I learned anything from HG Jananivas prabhu and HG Pankajanghri prabhu it is that the murti of the lord and the lord are non-different. That's why we can have different relationships with different deities and all of them are perfect. The lord likes to reveal himself in his different forms. All we need to do is become aware and conscious of that. I am definitely light years from realizing that the lord is a person but it definitely helps to have role models in your life to help show you the way.

Nrsimhadeva Bhagavan ki JAI!

New Simhacalam, Germany

New Vrndavana, West Viginia

Sri Mayapur Dham, India

My beautiful Lakshmi Nrsimhadeva

Today was a very nice day for me and the boys - I have been waking up everyday 4:20am to chant and leave to work early also, but on Saturday I normally try to sleep about 6 hours something I can't do during the week but I will come back to this topic later.
So instead of waking up at 6am to chant and go to work later I woke up at 5am and chanted with the boys...they chanted 4 rounds and were very peaceful and calm - I could perceive how the brahma muhurta time influences in our daily life if we can take advantage of this time to chant or do devotional activities, it really matters trying to be up at this time.
This week I was doing an activity with my students in class and they asked me about my schedule, so when I said I woke up at 4:20 and slept at 11pm, they didn't believe it so they asked how can I have all this energy to work long hours and also be calm and feeling good during the day

Yoga, Choice and Destiny

By Raghunath Das (Ray Cappo)

My entire face puckered and my gag reflux kicked in as I slugged down a two ounce shot of wheat grass juice. "I know this is good for me! I know this is good for me! Just deal with it...antioxidants, chlorophyll, essential amino acids, B vitamins. Just swig it down!" I swallowed. Even my neck seemed to pucker as this lawnmower smoothie dripped down my throat. "Aaaahg. I know there's a greater good coming from that gulp. This is a miracle healing food!"

That was 25 years ago and I remember that first wheat grass juice shot like it was yesterday. I was outside of a health food store on 6th avenue in Manhattan. There was a greasy pot bellied man with a fat neck and eating an equally greasy sausage-like something who was propped up against the wall observing me. He had to say something. "Hey dude - why go through all the trouble? Have some reeaal food." And when he said "reeaal" he pushed the greasy sausage thing towards my head. I mumbled and half smiled at him before I turned and walked away. A quote came to mind: Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space lies our freewill and thus our destiny. 25 years later I'm glad I made that choice not to put greasy sausage things in my body and instead to search out seek things that heal me and protect me from instead of causing the dreaded "fat neck syndrome."

It was at that time I had embarked on a spiritual journey that brought me around the world. I had become a yogi and my bible of choice was the Bhagavad Gita, India's foremost book on universal truth. I was all about transformation, change, and evolution. I wanted to transform. I wanted to see if Ii could change the current of where Ii was headed genetically, spiritually, & culturally. I remember the conversation I had about it with my mother a, short old Italian lady from Willliamsburg, Brooklyn.

"We take on different bodies according to our desire and our meditation." I said, paraphrasing the Gita.

"Do you mean we are going to die and come back as a cow or something?!"

"No mom, don't even think of it like that. We don't die. We just observe. Always. Our bodies and the minds just change according to our activities, our passions, and our habits."

It's really easy to dismiss something like reincarnation as other worldly, far fetched or new agey when you think of dying and coming back as a cow, so Ii pressed on, giving a more down to earth analogy that she could relate to.

"Remember when I was little and you'd warn me about hanging out with bad kids - because they'd have a bad influence on me.?"

She remembered and immediately said repeated her famous quote in her Brooklyn dialect, "If you hang out with trouble, -you become trouble! It's true!" she warned as she had since I was 6 years old.

"Exactly! The company we keep creates our consciousness. Our friends, our spouse. Whomever we have in our circle of close people influences who we are and what we become." This time she nodded.

"But it's not only that," I continued, “, "everything that we consume creates us. It creates our new body and mind. As soon as we are hungry we have a choice (here's that 'stimulus and response' quote from above). Whatever we choose to eat creates us and either assists us to evolve or devolve on an evolutionary scale." I was on a role so I didn't stop. " It's not only what food we eat but what we put in our eyes. Our ears. The movies we watch. The books we read. They are all creating us. They are all creating our new bodies and mind at every moment. We are changing every moment and creating a new body with every thought, morsel of food, sound and activity.

"Sound makes us change bodies?!"

"Sure. Don't you think hearing the sounds of Brooklyn every day are going to change your consciousness as opposed to you growing up in.....the Grand Canyon. Don't you think you create a different mind growing up in peace? Sound too creates us."

I think she got it.

There is a concept taught in the ancient histories of yoga. It's said animals get no karma or reactions for their actions. If I slap a tiger and he bites me he doesn't get any bad karma for biting me. That's what tigers do. In the in the human species we are responsible for our actions. If somebody slaps me, I have an opportunity to react in many ways. I could slap him back. It could come from a base feeling of revenge, anger and hostility. It could be rage. Or I could give a thoughtful stare. I could wonder what got into this guy to make himthem slug me, and I could ask him if he is alright. Ask him how he is. Each choice grants me a different reaction. Advancing in the yoga system means training ourselves to take more space after stimulus and , before response - to act in a way that let's us evolve. Can we use our higher consciousness instead of our lower consciousness?. Be in control of our thoughts, our choices, instead of acting on auto-pilot?. If so, we can evolve instead of devolving.

Yes, you can devolve. I've had days, even years where Ii felt, "God! I've really devolved this year! I use to be up there but now I'm down here! What's happened to me?" It's true, we can either grow intoas more conscious, caring, enlightened beings, or we become more bound toup in the material world. More animalistic (in every bad sense of ‘animal’). More reactive. Impulsive. Trapped. More frustrated within our bodies and minds. Frustrated by lower passions and desires that produces grief and disappointment.

Therefore the yogi is constantly thinking, "How can I live in such a way to surround my senses with things that will enlighten my consciousness and not degrade the consciousness? What am I letting into my universe? Into my senses? Whom and what do I have to cut out and what do I have to add in order to grow? To evolve? How can I create more space between stimulus and response?

ex-punk, ex-monk, yogi, husband, father to four, inversion ambassador. detox junkie. evolution assistant. coalesced by kirtan. cacao consumer. reciter of Gita. animal friendly. transcendence in training. full contact fighter. devours durian. likes to chant. likes a challenge. servant of the servants. harmonium hugger. conscious of Krishna.

www.raghunath.org

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 16 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 7.9.16 - Chapter 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva with Prayers

The following is a Śrīmad Bhāgavatam class given by H.H. Bhakti Charu Swami on 16 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 7.9.16 - Chapter 9: Prahlāda Pacifies Lord Nṛsiḿhadeva with Prayers