Most recently I was criticized over one of my posts regarding how I expressed that I felt compassion for persons engaged in materialistic activities mostly or totally unaware of Krishna consciousness in its true sense. The accusation was that by saying this I was exhibiting a “holier than thou” sort of attitude that everyone was [...]

Last Saturday afternoon at the Krishna-Balarama Mandir in Queens, NY, toward the end of conducting a workshop in chanting (japa-yoga), I felt thankful—as indeed I had on similar occasions—to be able to present the participants with the kind and reassuring statement that Kṛṣṇa himself offered Uddhava. And my auditors, whose sincerity and seriousness had become [...]

(Above: A Muslim preacher at Speakers Corner, London)

Internet posting, lectures in different arenas, distributing books on the street, seminars at colleges and universities… in many different ways we are presenting this ancient spiritual tradition of the East. People sometimes wonder whether our sole purpose in life is simply to convert others to our spiritual tradition. Admittedly, religious practitioners are renowned for their zealous endeavors to convince others. It can be a little off-putting to say the least, and in many cases even bordering scary. So why the big emphasis on ‘preaching’, for want of a better word?

Knowledge brings a certain responsibility. Morally, ethically and even legally, possession of some knowledge obliges us to act in a certain way. If you are a cardiologist and someone collapses from a heart attack in the street you would be required to do something. So in certain circumstances, to withhold information would be to act immorally. Of course, this doesn’t give us the free licence to sermonise everyone we meet so we can ‘save their soul’ there and then. Neither would we want such a licence. More than converting, as monks we are concerned with uncovering. The spiritual tradition is not an artificial imposition on one’s character, but rather the awakening of the original spiritual nature that is within everyone.

The poet Dunn writes in one passage that “no man is a social island”. As we live in a social context, everybody invariably impresses their ideas, values and ideologies upon those around them, and thus in one sense everyone is preaching. We can recognize the spirituality everywhere, in all traditions. At the same time, we feel we have a powerful spiritual process that is extremely practical and relevant to the world we live in. Our duty is to present this information, and then allow people to make their own judgements on what they can and can’t do.

We would cook most of our stuff from ghee. People stood frozen when they saw the amount of ghee placed in the giant wok. “All that ?! Oh My God ! We better watch our weight…is it healthy?“, many cried out. “Nothing to worry! It’s good for you!,” yelled back Kurma prabhu with fullest confidence. Our much anticipated poories would be born from that ocean of oil. Sorry, ghee.

Everyone’s favourite. Another dairy product. Cheese. To be more specific, paneer. Chef Kurma emptied milk and then yogurt into a big vessel for the making of paneer. He said this was the best way and better than using rennet. He then proceeded to explain the origins of rennet, which surprisingly many of the guests weren’t aware of. Rennet is a complex set of enzyme produced in the mammalian stomach to digest mother’s milk. The most sought after type of rennet is from calves and is a by product of veal production. So much violence. Coagulating milk through yoghurt is better. After much stirring, the mixture turns into solid (curd) and a slight green liquid (whey). We then drained off the whey using a very thin cloth and placing some additional weight on it. We used some huge canned tomato cans as weights. After few minutes, the white cheese was removed from the cloth and cut into large chunks. People were impressed. Then Kurma took one of the pieces and cut it to tiny pieces, added some lemon juice, coriander, olive oil and pepper. A quick snack ! Oh, boy…it was superb ! The rest of the pieces would be used for our punjabi matar paneer.

We also decided to make a garden salad dish which was not part of the actual menu. Kurma prabhu felt that this would be a welcome dish amidst the full Indian menu. People liked the idea.

As the asparagus went through a little bit of frying, the whole kitchen was filled with so much aroma. I couldn’t wait for lunch ! That stove seen above is a camping stove. We got it for A$15. Cheap, strong and good. We bought 2 new sets and I have only one left with me. The other? Well, Jignesh prabhu drove the 4-wheel drive over it. Yup…I had placed it near the gate of the house in a hurry to pay my obeisances to Kurma prabhu as he was preparing to leave for the airport later in the evening. Shortly after this, Jignesh reversed the car, took the wheel too close to the gate and cruuuussshhhh!!!! Gone.

Never in my life have I ever had eggplant pickle. Lemon, yes. Mango, yes. Carrot, yes. Yesterday, my Romanian friend was boldly declaring that in her country they make watermelon pickle ! I competed with her by saying proudly, “Oh yeah?!…in my country we make eggplant pickle! Beat that! “. She was surprised too. Eggplant? There were few people in the room during the cooking class who mentioned that they were not great fans of the fat vegetable. But the chef knew how to change our minds. He heated up some peanut oil, threw in the ginger, followed it up with asafetida and emptied with eggplant along with salt and cayenne. He called few of the guests over and gave them the task of stir-frying them. Later on, he returned and added some vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and continued its cooking. He returned again, poked the dark vegetable with a knife and sprinkled some cumin seeds, removed from the camping stove and let it cool.

You can’t have an Indian lunch or dinner without some sort of bread. We had decided to go for poories. I was delighted. It’s been sooooooo long since I had the oil soaked bread. I had already, earlier in the day, worked up the crowd into a suspense, “…you won’t believe this…but the chef will be making poories! WoW! You will love it !”. And they looked blank, “What’s that?”.

Almost everyone jumped at the task of rolling up a poorie. It was like a reality TV show. Each one competing with one another to see who does it better and quicker. And I must say, I was surprised to see that they were coming out good. And thin. Personally, rolling up the dough for any sort of Indian bread was never my favourite activity. I would rather hand it over to someone in my family to do the task. At my grandma’s place, the task of rolling was the task of one of my uncles. He has been doing it for almost everyday for 30 years !!!! And is he quick? Very quick! He is fussy about the quality of the circle and the thickness. It has to be almost thin and perfectly round. And he feels that no one else can get it right but him. So the ladies in the house gladly made way for him to carry out the operation for all these years.

Chef Kurma’s son, Nitai prabhu truly believed that making poories was in his blood already. He needed no training. He went to a corner of the kitchen and started churning out the world’s smallest poories like a machine! Today’s kids. You never know what they are capable off.

The most surprised person in the room was the chef of the kitchen. She said later on that in all her years of cooking she was never introduced to any of the items we were making. And it was a huge learning curve for her. She was so impressed that she promised us that she would allot a day, only for vegetarian dishes at her cafe, and all made from Kurma’s cookbook. How about that!!!! WoW ! I felt so accomplished when she said that. I had wanted that too.

As the poories were being made, Kurma showed a few others the task of having the paneer cubes fried in that ghee in the wok. As he took a scoop out, I was incredibly tempted to try out a piece. I mean it looked so edible. It looked, smelt and felt beautiful. Many WoW’s emanated from the room. Kurma said that paneer was a cheese  that you could fry without it melting.

And next in line were the poories, made with such care and devotion by the guests. Kurma prabhu declared later in his blog, “We prepared some of the tastiest and most crisp poories ever tasted at a cookery class“. While making them, he asked what I thought of the poories floating around in the ghee pool. I said, “I give it a score of 10/10!”.

Karhis are smooth and creamy yogurt-based dish served with rice. Either yogurt or buttermilk is whisked with chickpea flour and then simmered into a creamy sauce. Kurma explained that this dish was an excellent source of vegetarian protein. Another idea to eliminate the notion that one must eat meat like fish for protiens. This item had carrots, green beans, broccoli florets, peas and zucchini too.

And so, like this the day progressed. Lectures, cooking, lectures, team activity, staring at the dish being prepared, seeing it set aside, moving to the next one. Like that, it went on. We began to see our actions being converted to something that we all would eventually be proud to eat. And tell everyone about it later.

Check out this link to see a kirtan held on Lord Nirshimadev’s Appearance Day, the day before the Festival of Inspiration started.

” His Holiness Bhakti Marg Swami leading an amazing kirtan for Narasimha Caturdasi 2009. HH Radhanath and Devamrita Swamis dancing at Festival of Inspiration (FOI), New Vrindavan.”

Things have been so busy at Toronto's Hare Krishna Community that it's almost too much to keep track of.  This Sunday, June 7th, 2009 we have a special surprise up our sleeves for you!

A surprise festival, which has never been celebrated at ISKCON Toronto (at least not for a long time), will be celebrated in grand fashion this Sunday!  The only hint we will give is the picture in this post!  Can you guess the surprise festival based on the picture?

Also, just as an exciting heads-up, we have some very special guests who will be joining us this Sunday for this festival, including: HH Bhaktimarga Swami, HG Kratu das, HG Brhat Mrdanga das and HG Atmarama das (known for his enchanting kirtan, which you can sample below!).

Leave a comment and guess the festival which will be celebrated this Sunday!  We will put up a post later on today with full details!  (Hint:  The festival is being celebrated this weekend somewhere in the United States this weekend.  This city is located in a state famous for its peaches).

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Radha's Lover
by Laura Fay Lewis
(C) 2007

For more, check out Matchless Gifts Conscious Arts (MGCA)

Inspiration comes

from all

the most interesting places

when you least expect it

a vision in surrender

The breeze

of subtle exchanges

and the light of life

the spark

the call of the wild

blue skies

Forever means more

than birth and death

it just goes on like a river

and flows without our control

we keep looking for answers

and don't know our own soul

Love is the answer

absolute truth

is contained

in the mind of every living thing

it's there

the soul

invisible yet

connected to the heart

This continues to surprise me

when I am close

to falling

Krsna says

I will quench your thirst

and fullfill your desire

no need

to look for answers

on life's highwire

Transcendental kiss

is the sweetest

nectar of devotion

like a mother's love

unconditional

a safe place to rest

when one is weary

of life's infernal lessons

and the ocean of mercy

cleanses us

we can be free

to take birth

as someone new

even in this lifetime.....

Even though we may not be advanced chanters, we feel the presence of Krishna directly also on our lower status. And so we chant happily to sustain our lives. We are committed to this prayer on a daily basis. We refuse to go without it. May Krishna always bless us with taste and determination to chant our japa faithfully, day in and day out, and may He give us the attentiveness to make a decent performance. May we not cheat ourselves with inattentive chanting but do our part according to the free will given us to hear the holy names with attention.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

From Bhajan Kutir #90

Is been a while since I've posted anything so I thought I'd share some pictures of my deities dressed in pink on Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi, click here for more pictures. Hopefully more posts will be ready soon, but this is a busy time of the year with Ratha-Yatra planning in full swing! To learn about Toronto's 37th annual Ratha-Yatra (July 18 & 19) visit http://www.feedyoursoul.to/! Also visit http://www.torontotunnel.com/ for a unique kirtan experience!

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.14 - Warning!  The 5 potent forms of devotional service will destroy your material attractions.

Saturday, June 6th - 10:30am to 2pm

This Sunday, June 7, 2009, we will be launching "Lord Baladeva's Postering Crew"! Every Sunday, between now and Ratha-Yatra, volunteers will meet at 1:00pm and hit the streets armed with tape, staple guns and posters!

Postering is one of our most extensive and important tasks as we need to constantly keep the public informed of the festival and one of the best ways is to hit the streets and put up our beauitful posters!

Volunteers will meet at the Hare Krishna Temple (243 Avenue Rd.) at 1:00pm. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear for walking. As a special surprise is that there are always scrumptious snacks and refreshments waiting for everyone once we are finished our "postering missions"! If any of the volunteers with a car would like to help transport volunteers to postering sites please let us know. Please email volunteers@feedyoursoul.to if you would like to participate or have any questions or concerns.

Sometime we become bewildered by the verse in Srimad Bhagavatam, which reads, "O best among the twice-born, it is therefore concluded that the highest perfection one can achieve by discharging the duties prescribed for one's own occupation according to caste divisions and orders of life is to please the Personality of Godhead."

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1966 June 4:
"Pratipada. Today the temperature was very warm. For the first time in America I took bath in the evening. In the Sanskrit class the Contribution was only $9.00 and Myke paid the balance for book $4.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1970 June 4: "It is very, very encouraging that London temple is receiving so many inquiries form the different European countries. So open branches there. Wherever we may open a center, Hare Krsna mantra will be chanted with great delight."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 4: "I was sure that you would not allow anyone to sit on the Vyasasana, and therefore when I read your statement I was little surprised. Anyway, that is alright. Please keep me informed at least once in a fortnight about the good progress of your temple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 4: "Anyone of my students can inquire from me in the matter of serving Krsna directly. So you are at liberty to send your letters directly, and I will reply them duly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 June 4: "I am very concerned you have left the association of the devotees in the temple. You cannot remain in firm Krsna Consciousness without the association of devotees. We must stand united."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 June 4: "The situation is a great discredit for us. This is because of nasty management. Why it cannot be made clean? He has proved his poor management, so he must be replaced."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "In 1933 he was given the first chance to preach Lord Caitanya's movement in London. He could not do anything appreciable, and he was called back by Guru Maharaja. Then where is his authority?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "If his motive is to suppress me and if that is why he has come here, how we can receive him? If he comes to our center, give him prasadam, honor him as an elder Vaisnava, but he cannot speak or lecture."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "Nobody says Swami Bon has done it or any other swami. There are so many swamis coming, but they are giving the credit to me. If Krishna accepts me as authority, then who can deny it?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

New Goloka temple NC USA SRI SRI RADHA KRPA KATAKSA STAVA RAJA

1966 June 4:
"Pratipada. Today the temperature was very warm. For the first time in America I took bath in the evening. In the Sanskrit class the Contribution was only $9.00 and Myke paid the balance for book $4.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1970 June 4: "It is very, very encouraging that London temple is receiving so many inquiries form the different European countries. So open branches there. Wherever we may open a center, Hare Krsna mantra will be chanted with great delight."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 4: "I was sure that you would not allow anyone to sit on the Vyasasana, and therefore when I read your statement I was little surprised. Anyway, that is alright. Please keep me informed at least once in a fortnight about the good progress of your temple."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1970 June 4: "Anyone of my students can inquire from me in the matter of serving Krsna directly. So you are at liberty to send your letters directly, and I will reply them duly."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 June 4: "I am very concerned you have left the association of the devotees in the temple. You cannot remain in firm Krsna Consciousness without the association of devotees. We must stand united."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 June 4: "The situation is a great discredit for us. This is because of nasty management. Why it cannot be made clean? He has proved his poor management, so he must be replaced."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "In 1933 he was given the first chance to preach Lord Caitanya's movement in London. He could not do anything appreciable, and he was called back by Guru Maharaja. Then where is his authority?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "If his motive is to suppress me and if that is why he has come here, how we can receive him? If he comes to our center, give him prasadam, honor him as an elder Vaisnava, but he cannot speak or lecture."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 4: "Nobody says Swami Bon has done it or any other swami. There are so many swamis coming, but they are giving the credit to me. If Krishna accepts me as authority, then who can deny it?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

We knew that our visit to Malaysia for spreading the rays of Lord Caitanya's benediction moon was going to be ecstatic. But we had no idea how ecstatic it would be. What we experienced exceeded our expectations by a long shot. What made the difference? It was the wonderful loving exchanges that we had with so many devotees. It is sometimes said that...

"Therefore Rukmini Devi knew very well that obtaining the favor of Krishna was not easy. Since even Lord Siva must purify himself for this purpose, surely it would be difficult for Rukmini who was only the daughter of a Kshatriya King. Thus she desired to dedicate her life to observing severe austerities and going without bodily comforts. if it were not possible in this lifetime to gain Krishna's

BY SANKARSHAN DAS ADHIKARI Source: Thought for the day On the evening of 31 May 2009, in the ISKCON Klang, Malaysia temple room, which was packed full with guests, I initiated two new disciples: Sanat Kumar das and Sacisuta das. Initiation is the most auspicious event because it is at the time of initiation that the devotee [...]

These are some of our wonderful family of devotee friends in Brisbane who kindly came to give their blessings to us before we set out for England (via India).  Thankyou all for your warmth, the way you bring up your kids in a sane, healthy and Krishna Conscious way and all you shared with us.  Here we have enthusiastic readers of Srila Prabhupada’s books, a group who meet regularly to do the bhakti vrksa programme, committed feast cooks, fired up preachers and all in all, a really lively sanga.

Rasika Seva used to travel in Indradyumna  Maharaj’s tours and now she lives in Australia.  Krishna gave her a wonderful taste and gift for singing  his names.

 

 

 

 

The lovely Vrindavaneshwari again.  This lady is a physiotherapist who gives her services to all the Brisbane congregation whenever they require help.  Needless to say, if you go to her for treatment, you will also be treated to more prasadam than you can manage.  Princess Janaki is her daughter, her son is in the pic beneath and her husband, Janakaraja prabhu is the man behind the camera - hence, not visible!  Usually, he is highly visible and available on any occasion to serve the devotees.  Wonderful family.

 

 

I've just completed a special "nirjala" (no food or even water) fast since Tuesday evening. This special austerity comes once a year on the Ekadasi day (11th day after the full-moon) falling in this lunar month. My 12-year-old son Nitai insisted on joining me for the fast, despite having school sport yesterday afternoon. He refused to be talked out of it, and he completed the fast with me. Water sure tasted good this morning!

My Guru, Srila Prabhupada (pictured above) would drink quite a bit of water for health and digestion. He would never actually touch the water vessel to his lips, instead slightly tipping the cup and his head, allowing the water to pour into his mouth in a steady stream. His movements and gestures while drinking water were always strikingly aristocratic.

He would make many comments about the subject, often as his disciples and followers sat with him in his room watching him drink water.

Ravindra-svarupa recalls: "One of the first times I was in Srila Prabhupada's presence I saw him drink water from a lota. It was amazing because I had never seen anything done with such precision. It was a small thing, a tiny gesture, but there was something unique about it. I realized that anyone who could drink a glass of water like that was not an ordinary person.

Later on, as I would have more association with Srila Prabhupada, I would see that happening more and more. He would do something and just do it very carefully. Most people do ordinary things carelessly without thinking about them, yet somehow or other he always acted with full deliberation. It was, I guess, just a side effect of being Krsna conscious."

One of his many instructions on the subject of water was to never draw his drinking water from a bathroom! One disciple, Pradyumna, asked how it is actually different if the water comes from the bathroom, provided one doesn't know where the water comes from. Prabhupada replied that it would affect the mind, even if you didn't know where the water came from, because the bathroom is a contaminated place.

as it is Ekadasi and of note nirjala Ekadasi I felt it right to post this class given by HDG Mother Urmila which combines the need for attentive chanting with that of the need to fully understand and observe Ekadasi. Ekadasi Vrata-attentive chanting (Mother Urmila class, May 2002) For me it was very inspirational and I hope [...]

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami - June 3

My Dear Lord Krishna...

I’m glad that You accept my service even though I am not an all-star. As Lord Caitanya, You are happy to drink water from the broken iron pot of Sridhar Kolevecar. But Sridhar was an all-star in his devotion to You. He used to constantly sing Your holy names, so much that his neighbors complained that he kept them from sleeping at night. When Lord Caitanya was showing His divinity to His devotees at Srivasa Thakura’s house, He asked the devotees to go and fetch Sridhar. The Lord was asking the devotees to express what was their heart’s desire, and He awarded it to them. Sridhara expressed that he wished to remain a poor seller of banana leaves and engage in friendly quarrels with Nimai Pandit over the price of his commodities. These were purely affectionate exchanges of Sridhar, and he wishes to maintain them, rather than accept any other boon the Lord might offer him.

What do I want from You? I wish to love You with intense devotion. This is not something I have already attained, as Sridhar Kulavecar has already attained his friendly quarrels with the Lord. It is something I am aspiring for. My devotion is not so strong. I’m not willing to take daring preaching services on behalf of guru and Krishna. I do not engage in constant harinama, as did Sridhara Kulavecar, who appeared like a madman to his neighbors. I pray, therefore, from a wish list. I would like to attain krsna-prema. This comes, however, only with great effort by the devotee. You see him serving and hear his cries of supplication. In the Bhagavad-gita, You say, “As they approach Me, I reward them accordingly.”

I pray for enthusiasm and greed (laulyam). I am like a weak-hitting baseball team facing a mighty pitcher. I have to change my ways and start hitting strongly. How can I do it? It doesn’t seem likely. But fortunes can change, and weak hitters can start a rally.

My writing and my chanting are my big bats, my chance of scoring runs in the process of devotional service. I must work with my strengths and try to add new strengths. Krsna-prema doesn’t just drop in your lap by good luck.

Nevertheless, I pray for the opportunity to increase my love. I am writing this piece with push and shove. I take time to hear and delight in Your pastimes in Brhad-bhagavatamrta and Srimad-Bhagvatam. I rise early and chant the maha-mantra with all the attention I can command. I continue to chant in the afternoon. I frankly petition You, knowing You are inclined to Your devotees. I associate with my devotee friends and try to show my concern for their well-being. I reach out to readers in my journal and books. My service is quiet, but I offer it sincerely and humbly.

Will my devotional service accumulate to reach You and touch You? That You will decide. At least You know what I want. I don’t want wealth or education or power or beautiful women or fame. I want Your eternal devotional service, accepted in an intimate exchange of love. Please help me to gain the courage to do what I must do to earn it. Don’t leave me an outsider. Don’t give me a lesser boon.

from the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #91→

Chaitanya Charan Das: Book review of “Lessons in Spiritual Economics from the Bhagavad-gita - part 1 Understanding and solving the economic problem” by HG Dhanesvara Dasa

Questions we asked of Marc, the owner of the Propaganda tattoo parlor, are:

• Why in the world do you have a Hare Krishna book-rack in your store?
• Business gurus recommend not to keep religious materials in your business store. Do you find your business diminishing because of the rack?
• How do people react when they see the rack?
• …

Yesterday we finally bought a grill. I say finally because I have wanted one for years upon years. My childhood summers will filled with barbecued dinners, although nothing my folks grilled back in those days would be suitable for me today. It was all meat. The only vegetable was the iceburg lettuce salad mom would toss together.

āpūryamānam acala-pratishamsamudram āpah praviśanti yadvattadvat kāmā yam praviśanti sarvesa śāntim āpnoti na kāma-kāmīA person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires — that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still — can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires. - BG 2.70Purport by Srila PrabhupadaAlthough the

Sikhi Mahiti das: Long time ISKCON Atlanta member, Kaviraja das a disciple of Srila Prabhupada, passed away about 2 am Monday morning, June 1st, at his home from cancer.

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

Dvija priya dasi: Lord Jagannatha's Rathayarta was celebrated in grand style on Saturday at Jacksonville Beach, Florida. More than 400 devotees and many guests attended.

Jagabandhu das: As I was working in the garden this afternoon putting in more marigolds for puspanjali I was remembering Krishna telling Arjuna what He likes to have offered to Him with Love (putram puspam palam toyam...)

Srila Gour Govinda Maharaja used to tell us, "If you have not seen the svarup (spiritual form) of your guru, you have simply been cheated." Of course that does not mean that you are not getting mercy. In spiritual life, cheating is also a kind of mercy, because it makes us cry, thereby intensifying our bhajan.

Realizing the svarup of our guru is the goal of the sadhakas, practitioners in our Gaudiya line. As Krishna says in the Gita, this realization is the topmost understanding -- raja-vidya; it is the most confidential -- raja-guhyam; but it must be realized -- pratyaksavagamam-dharmyam.

I have seen many persons who have put forth various speculated ideas about the svarup of their guru. Personally, I've never felt inspired by such an approach. To me, it just seems to lack dignity and grace. No where have we ever heard of someone realizing the eternal identity of their guru through the process of mundane empiricism. "O he said this. That must mean... He liked this song... He installed these kind of deities mostly, therefore..." etc etc.

Like Samba pretending before the rishis in Dwarka, I don't need to stuff something under my clothes to pretend that I'm pregnant. Thanks, but I prefer to wait for something real.

The following article by Srila Saraswati Thakur Prabhupada was in our recent (203rd) issue of Sri Krishna Kathamrita Bindu. Therein he explains that Krishna, as Sri Guru will reciprocate with you, in any particular relationship your heart aspires for.

Hari Hari!

Das, MD
===================

You've got to approach a mixing job with a vision.

I listened to the songs I've mixed so far from 24 May, on my iPod with headphones.

I think I'm going to remix Parama Karuna with this vision in mind: I want the music to subside into the background, and the vocals to really become the focus. The musical elements should be a bed that the vocal floats over. The flute should sometimes rise up out of the bed and float over the music too, but not at the same time as the vocal.

I'll add a bass guitar track, using a Logic Pro bass amp and a compressor, to fill out the sound.

My concern with the tracks I have to work with are, again, the cartals. The performance is great, but the sound is overbearing, and I don't have a separate chorus track - something that I will be sure to address in the next recording session.

Please take darshan of Sri Sri Radha-Madhava, Sri Nrsimhadeva and Sri Pancha-tattva in Mayapur on this most auspicious Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi day. Many devotees observe total fasting and stay awake throughout the night singing and hearing the glories of the Lord. We have special programs in the temple tonight. From 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., HG Naru gopal prabhu will lead kirtans. HG Jananivas prabhu will give a class on glories of this Ekadasi from 11 p.m. to 12 midnight. Tonight’s special kirtans and classes will be available LIVE. Join the devotees in Mayapur to observe the Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi.

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Without God as the center and the root of all activity, 'solutions' to social problems only generate further problems. "We may therefore, invent by our advancement of material knowledge all sorts of counteracting material resources, but without being guided by the Lord, all such inventions end in fiasco, however strong and stout the reactionary elements may be (Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.38/purport).

1966 June 3:
"Purnima. In the evening there was class and it was the best than all previous classes. There was attendance about twenty and contribution was $19.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 June 3: "Our principle is to enter into the family life of Krishna. In the Vaikuntha world there are many devotees who have their wives, but they are so much absorbed in Krishna Consciousness they forget the idea of sex-life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 June 3: "They are gradually deviating on account of stereotyped presentations by sophisticated priests. Modern youths want something dynamic, progressive in spiritual understanding, but the priests cannot satisfy them."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 June 3: "If you follow my instructions there is no doubt that through me, my Spiritual Master will be pleased, and through His mercy, Lord Nityananda. In this way Lord Caitanya and ultimately Radha Krsna will be pleased - and thus your life will be successful."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1966 June 3:
"Purnima. In the evening there was class and it was the best than all previous classes. There was attendance about twenty and contribution was $19.00."
Prabhupada Journal :: 1966

1969 June 3: "Our principle is to enter into the family life of Krishna. In the Vaikuntha world there are many devotees who have their wives, but they are so much absorbed in Krishna Consciousness they forget the idea of sex-life."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 June 3: "They are gradually deviating on account of stereotyped presentations by sophisticated priests. Modern youths want something dynamic, progressive in spiritual understanding, but the priests cannot satisfy them."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 June 3: "If you follow my instructions there is no doubt that through me, my Spiritual Master will be pleased, and through His mercy, Lord Nityananda. In this way Lord Caitanya and ultimately Radha Krsna will be pleased - and thus your life will be successful."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1974 June 3: "As far as counsel is concerned, simply keep up your fresh utsaha (enthusiasm) for service. That will accomplish wonders. And always remain ideal yourself by strict adherence to the bhakti principles."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 June 3: "As GBC your first responsibility is to keep yourself spiritually fit and see that all the devotees in your zone of management are strictly avoiding the sinful activities. If they are doing this - then management will be at your finger's end."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 June 3: "I am dispatching this letter through my disciple Sriman Jayananda Adhikari. I shall be very glad to meet you again. You have taken so much pain for writing this book and I thank you very much. May Lord Krishna bless you more and more."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 3: "We are very strict. We are not after large numbers. Since I cannot personally interview you, please request the temple manager to recommend you to me for initiation. By this process, it may be possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1974 June 3: "As far as counsel is concerned, simply keep up your fresh utsaha (enthusiasm) for service. That will accomplish wonders. And always remain ideal yourself by strict adherence to the bhakti principles."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1974 June 3: "As GBC your first responsibility is to keep yourself spiritually fit and see that all the devotees in your zone of management are strictly avoiding the sinful activities. If they are doing this - then management will be at your finger's end."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

1975 June 3: "We are very strict. We are not after large numbers. Since I cannot personally interview you, please request the temple manager to recommend you to me for initiation. By this process, it may be possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 June 3: "I am dispatching this letter through my disciple Sriman Jayananda Adhikari. I shall be very glad to meet you again. You have taken so much pain for writing this book and I thank you very much. May Lord Krishna bless you more and more."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

New Goloka temple NC USA SRI SRI RADHA KRPA KATAKSA STAVA RAJA

I’ve finally uploaded the class given by HG Adhay Das: HG Abhay Das (Manor 1-6-09 Also I recorded the morning Arti: Morning Arti (1-6-09) Sorry for the delay I decided best to upload the class given by HG Jayapataka Swami first and have been going through the resource pack given to me to present tomorrow.

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.13 - Mind can offer you very opulent bedstead.

The key to always being happy is to always be in a service mood. Our tendency in this material world is to try to be happy by being in an enjoying mood. But this approach does not work. This is why so many people are unhappy throughout the world. As long as we try to enjoy in this way sometimes we will be happy and sometimes we will be miserable. But...

I just added free tagging to my posts. This will enable me to link posts more easily. So, for example, you can now view the posts arising from the 24 May 2009 H.H. Prabhavishnu Swami bhajan session all in one place, easily.

If you view any post on it's own page (by clicking it's title if you are reading it on the main www.atmayogi.com page or on Planet ISKCON) you can see a list of categories, including free tags, at the bottom of the post. Click on any of these to retrieve all the posts in that category / tag, for further related reading.

Here's a quick mix down I did this morning of Parama Karuna, from the recent (24 May) bhajan session with H.H. Prabhavishnu Swami.

In this mix I worked on getting the response chorus louder in the mix, as per the request of one correspondent. In order to do this the cartal sound (which is strong in the chorus mic) untamed. I've put a multipressor (a multiband compressor) on it to try to bring it down a little. Having the vocals louder is nice, but the cartals become overbearing. With a low-pass filter on the cartals go down in the mix, but the vocals disappear.

For future recordings I think I'll mic up the audience/chorus with a couple of Behringer C2s, strategically placed behind the cartal players. In that case a microphone specifically to close mic the cartals (to avoid that "playing in a cavern effect") might be a good idea. That way their presence in the mix can be controlled later. Highly directional (hypercardioid) mics such as the Shure Beta series seem like a good avenue of investigation, to avoid leakage of the cartals into other tracks.

The 66Hz tone is still being triggered from the bottom end of the mrdanga [see here], but as Janardana was playing "laghu" style it doesn't feature so much. With the emphasis on the top end of the mrdanga it doesn't sound so plastic. It might be worth investigating replacing the bottom end of the mrdanga with a triggered sound, and using the capture of the top end, for future recordings of badly tuned Balarama bottom ends. Great mrdanga performance on this track.

I also left the same "Minimum Voltage, Maximum Illusion" set up with the vocal, routing the uncompressed vocal track through the reverb [see here]. In a proper mix down I'll have to make some adjustments, as you can hear it go over the top in the line beginning "Dekho ore bhai".

I'm not sure how this sounds along with the other mixes. Together they probably aren't going to come out sounding like an album, as I'm experimenting and learning things as I go. I think I'll just mix each one in isolation, then listen to them all together at the end.

Anyway, here it is:

• Parama Karuna (mp3, 16MB, 11 min)

Sorry about the couple of minutes silence at the end..

I just returned from a visit with to Columbus and Athens Ohio. In Columbus there was a very beautiful initiation ceremony, many wonderful devotees who I have known for long time, and many since the very beginning of their connection to Krishna in this lifetime, received initiation.

It was wonderful to be able to witness how these devotees have grown up in Krishna consciousness. Life will now carry these different devotees in different directions, but I feel privileged to have shared this special time with them and to have been able to serve them in some way.

It is also the end of an era for me personally. On this trip I had a couple of conversations with my spiritual master, Srila Radhanath Swami, and we concluded that at this point in my life the best way for me to move forward in my Krishna consciousness is to change ashrams. I will officially do tomorrow on Pandava Nirjala Ekadasi.

I will be applying to Stanford and possibly some other graduate schools, most probably in the area, to pursue a PHD, in Philosophy. I am hoping to continue my service at Stanford, beyond that I’m not sure about any other details.

I apologize for misrepresenting myself as something I wasn’t.

I sincerely beg the forgiveness of all the vaisnavas, I know that out of false pride I have offended many of you and and I beg your blessings for the next step in my journey.

Your Servant,
Gauranga Kishore Das

This is fresh, heard one hour ago: at the Bhaktivedanta Manor, near London, one initiation ceremony was held today, 2 June 2009. One of the initiates, a lady, had a recommendation from a devotee authorized to issue recommendations. She showed up, submitted the recommendation, fulfilled other requirements, and took initiation. You may tend to comment: “Haribol!” but no celebratory Haribols were heard from a temple president in another city who claims some “jurisdiction” over this person and who objects to the procedure, to the point—I hear—of saying that the initiation should be cancelled, rendered null and void. Another temple president, from yet another English city, is branding this reaction as “politics”… It seems that a holy ceremony for spiritual emancipation risks being tinged by power-politics and fuel some unholy game.

It’s with sadness and concern that I am writing this entry. I have been witnessing the sacred function of recommending a candidate for initiation debasing, in some cases, to a less-sacred social and psychological function of control and territorial jurisdiction.

I have seen a growing tendency of local yatras—on the city, nation and even continental level—imposing more and more demands on the candidates for initiation, a plethora of heavier prerequisites, even in direct contradiction and infringement of existing ISKCON laws.

Perhaps even more disturbingly, such edicts have often no foundation in sastric injunction or traditional Gaudiya Vaisnava practice (in other words, are products of mental speculation).

A couple of examples? In Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, the local temple arbitrarily decided that:

1. Candidates for initiation must accept a counselor if they ever want to be initiated.

2. All the members of the counselors’ council (ten people), must agree that the person is ready for initiation; even one objector has the power to veto the initiation.

ISKCON UK took the radical (and apparently illegitimate) step of doubling the preparation time for initiation: From six months (ISKCON law) of practice (sixteen rounds and four regs) before being able to request the pranama mantra from the guru of one’s choice to one year. After that, from six months (ISKCON law) waiting period before the initiation, to one year. So, from a total of a minimum one year of chanting sixteen rounds and following the four regulative principles, to a minimum of two years.

Not only that; they also demand financial contributions from the candidates, in open disregard of ISKCON law that clearly says:

“15.4.1 - Initiation of Congregational Devotees . . . It shall be prohibited to require a minimum donation or financial commitment or other requirements not mentioned by Srila Prabhupada or ISKCON Law.”

I could go on with examples of such anomalies, these “requirements not mentioned by Srila Prabhupada or ISKCON Law,” but you get the idea.

This situation raises a few questions, which I consider important for the understanding and the future of the mission. For instance, who in ISKCON has the legitimate authority to establish standards for initiation and corresponding requisites for recommendation? My answer: The Governing Body Commission and no one else. Letting each smaller or larger ISKCON enclave establish its own norms is tantamount of declaring those branches and areas beyond GBC control in this most sacred and crucial field of initiating new devotees.

Unfortunately conditioned human (and animal) tendency is to attempt to dominate and control other living entities (tendency known in Sanskrit as “isvara bhava”); Temple Presidents and other officers who aren’t yet completely free from this tendency might rationalize “dovetailing” it in Krishna consciousness by establishing more stringent rules than the elaborate guidelines already existing in ISKCON law. I am not doubting that some of them might have genuine concern for the preparation of the candidates or sincere interest in seeing the process applied as purely and carefully as possible; at the same time the “isvara bhava” might creep in the form of:

1. Unauthorizedly forcing upon candidates new strictures and burdens.

2. Demanding some form of emotional, financial, social and/or service allegiance to one’s own project.

3. Enjoying the subtle (or gross) power of determining if the initiation will take place or not, while keeping the candidates on their toes and exerting some submission-inducing pressure.

4. Having the satisfaction of blockading or immobilizing the process of formal development of the relation between guru and disciple (perhaps unconsciously thinking: “I might not be on the level of giving initiation, but at least I can stop it from being given!”)

What could be the solution to this often painful social and spiritual stalemate?

While we should work to re-establish ISKCON law where it has been locally overturned and disregarded, I am proposing we take a good look at the possibility of deregulating the whole process by empowering other devotees to provide the recommendation.

What do you think about having three brahmanas signing the recommendation? Three devotees—in “good standing”—who have second initiation, who know the candidate well enough to be able to say: “To the best of my understanding I trust this person’s assurance that s/he is chanting sixteen rounds daily and following the four regulative principles.”

Why the temple should be bothered or burdened with the responsibility of being the only authorized outlet for recommending people? Any sastric evidence for such an idea, that the spiritual life of people should be somewhat negotiated only and exclusively through the administrative structures of the places of worship? In Vaisnavism we don’t have a demarcation between clergy and laity: second initiation and the privilege to directly serve the Deities are open to every member of the extended community. Why not empowering those who have come to the stage of being second initiated devotees with the opportunity to recommend candidates for initiation? Why a brahmana living outside the temple should be considered less reliable than every temple officer?

This simplification may well result in less headaches for the temples (who often don’t know the candidates very well); less opportunity for ego-centric controlling sprees; less psychological burdens and tensions for the candidates (who often feel forced to play the political game to be able to get recommended); less artificial strictures on the holy interaction between guru and disciple; less (apparently adharmic) domination by younger devotees who restrict more senior devotees (gurus) in their services to the movement.

I look forward to hear from you about the cases of local yatras inventing stricter rules than those already existing in ISKCON law and on your opinions on these delicate matters.

Krishna.com, the largest Krishna conscious website in the world, is launching an eLearning effort. Our new Bhakti Academy encourages devotees from all around the world, and those interested in learning more about Krsna Consciousness, to study Srila Prabhuapda\'s books online in the association of devotees. We invite you to take advantage of these facilities, and inform others they are now available. Our first project is a Bhagavad-gita As It Is eCourse; studying One Chapter each week for 19 weeks, with a short mid-term break. Several tools enhance online learning of Bhagavad-gita, the book Srila Prabhupada declared "the essence of Vedic knowledge"

Here's the crew of last Saturday's culinary event held in the penthouse apartment of our gracious host Faye, (top row, second-from-right).

We had a great time, with magnificent 360-degree views of the ocean, beaches, and other lovely sub-tropical things.

Club New Vrndavan continue their campaign against Darwin and evolutionary theory (personally my campaign is against religious atheism, which I distinguish from those two). The latest installment is a review of the book "Nature's IQ". Here's an excerpt from a review on their site:

Darwin himself discovered the frog in Chile (Rhinoderma darwinii). After female Darwin’s frogs lay their eggs on wet beaches, males sense the scent of the eggs and fertilize them. They then station themselves beside the eggs in groups and guard them for about twenty days. When the developing eggs begin to move in their tiny, jelly-like globules, the males lean over to them and gulp—they seemingly eat them! Of course, they do not eat the eggs but instead place them with their tongue into their long expandable vocal pouch, situated in the lower part of ther body. The eggs continue to develop in the vocal pouch until one day the male suddenly yawns widely, and the fully developed baby frogs jump out of his mouth….

…For viable offspring to hatch, the frog father must know that he has to keep an eye on the eggs. Furthermore, he has to have the instincts commanding the right behavior: when the young are about to hatch, he has to get them into his specially structured vocal pouch. And when they are fully developed, he has to set them free. If any of these elements were missing, the frog’s reproduction would be unsuccessful. Therefore, it is inconceivable that the Darwin’s frog and its special way of reproduction came into existence step by step, as a result of small changes….It is inconceivable that this frog species, with its specialized behavior, came into existence by a sudden large-scale mutation….The chance mutation of these genes causing a series of concerted, appropriate behaviors would be more than a miracle.

The (favorable) reviewer then goes on to say:

This excerpt provides one example of the methodology employed in analyzing and diffusing evolution theory in terms of reproduction and survival of offspring. Other sections cover predation, defense, symbiosis, animal communication, navigation, and mating behaviors.

Eeek. I hope it gets better than that.

In an evolutionary schema things do not spring forth fully formed. For example, take a look at the evolution of pop music. Pop music today utilizes various musical elements, and various intricate electronic elements. If you were to look at recorded music in the 1930's and that of the latter years of the first decade of the 21st century (that is to say: today), you'd see a great difference.

That didn't happen overnight. There are a series of innovations and gradual developments that lead from single microphone recordings of acoustic instruments to digital audio workstations, vocoders, and auto-tune.

So to make an argument that evolution requires all the elements of a complex arrangement to all become present simultaneously is ingenuous.

Obviously there is a difference between pop music and biological organisms, but my point here is related to evolutionary development and complexity.

A series of biological innovations can be postulated that would eventually lead to the particular combination of factors observed in these frogs. In fact, if you observe any system where the conscious living entity, the jiva, is in contact with and animating the material elements, you find all kinds of surprising, unexpected, and frankly wonderful arrangements developing over time.

I've heard evolutionary defenders explain their perspective on the development of the eye, another favorite "irreducibly complex" argument point of anti-evolutionists, and they have a coherent narrative in that area.

Of course, you may not be able to find all the intermediate steps in the fossil record, but as a theoretical exercise it's not a show-stopper.

That's not to say that a particular evolutionary narrative is "true". However, in the battle of theoretical narratives I do not find the argument that intricate complexity is not possible through evolutionary development to be particularly compelling.

Come join us for a three part seminar on the Art of HAPPINESS.

Ace Simpson, international speaker, and who’s working on a Phd in Positive Psychology will give us powerful tools to grasp the happiness we’ve always wanted. June 3rd, 10th and 17th, at 6pm at the Loft Yoga Lounge. Don’t miss this!  

Russell Brand consults spiritual guru

You could never accuse Russell Brand of being conventional, so after seeking enlightenment in drink, drugs and women, the comic is giving his spiritual side a go.

He is apparently paying visits to a guru called Radhanath Swami.

Russell said: "I’m a spiritual gent. Increasingly that’s the level I want to vibrate on, were it not for my crazed lust for sex and glamour."

Speaking of Swami, who is a member of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Russell said: "He’s a beautiful fellow. He’s got the answer."

If he takes this as seriously as he does his pursuit of women then he'll be a monk before the week is out!

Check out the original article here.

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami - June 2, 4:45 A.M.

There was noise in the house last night, and I put earplugs in when I went to bed. I slept the whole night through without waking. I didn’t wake until 4:15 A.M, so I’m starting my morning late.

5:02 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

I concentrated on speed. I chanted too fast to be contemplative. Two of my rounds were chanted at five minutes per round. It was like being on a rollercoaster ride. But I was wide awake and alert. All I did was think of the sounds I was making and listened to the syllables of the names. I chanted at a whisper, but like a waterfall. I was happy to be making up for my late start. We will be able to go to the beach and chant some more. I’ll have to make up my rounds later in the day, but that’s all right. I should not be fanatical about having to get all my rounds chanted before breakfast. The main thing is to chant with attention. Beyond that, immerse yourself in the meanings of the holy names.

from the yellow submarine, my bhajana kutir #90→

Isn't this just so beautiful? You can listen to more of Manjari's sweet bhajans and kirtans here

There is a story of identical twins.

One was a hope-filled optimist. "Everything is coming up roses!" he would say. The other twin was a sad and hopeless pessimist. He thought that Murphy, as in Murphy's Law, was an optimist. The worried parents of the boys brought them to the local psychologist.

He suggested to the parents a plan to balance the twins personalities.

"On their next birthday, put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. Give the pessimist the best toys you can afford, and give the optimist a box of manure."

The parents followed these instructions and carefully observed the results.

When they peeked in on the pessimist, they heard him audibly complaining,

"I don't like the color of this computer . . I'll bet this calculator will break . . . I don't like the game . . . I know someone who's got a bigger toy car than this . . ."

Tiptoeing across the corridor, the parents peeked in and saw their little optimist gleefully throwing the manure up in the air. He was giggling.

"You can't fool me! Where there's this much manure, there's got to be a pony!"

Devout followers of the Hare Krishna tradition are used to the idea of enthusiastically celebrating their spirituality through chanting, dancing and feasting!  The feasting is such an important part of our tradition, that we have become known as the "kitchen religion"!

Here is another new series,
Recently I was invited to participate in the Texas Faith Panel. This new column in the Dallas Morning News, William McKenzie/Editorial Columnist describes as follows ,

Each week we will post a question to a panel of about two dozen clergy, laity and theologians, all of whom are based in Texas or are from Texas. They will chime in with their responses to the question of the week. And you, readers, will be able to respond to their answers through the comment box.

This weeks question.President Barack Obama has made it clear that he wanted a Supreme Court justice with a sense of empathy. Since then, a debate has ballooned up about what empathy means.

Some see it as a code word for judicial activism. Some see it as a trait needed to understand a litigant. The New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote last week that:

"People without social emotions like empathy are not objective decision-makers. They are sociopaths who sometimes end up on death row....But because we're emotional creatures in an idiosyncratic world, it's prudent to have judges who are cautious, incrementalist and minimalist."

I'm not looking for your views on whether Sonia Sotomayor would make a good justice, but I am interested in your thoughts about the role -- and limits -- of emotion in guiding individuals.

People of faith clearly have been known to be passionate about their beliefs. The joy they have in their faith often is seen as a positive, even by skeptics.

But here's the question of the week: How much can anyone rely upon emotion in shaping their religious experience and the way they act in the world? and here was the response:

NITYANANDA CHANDRA DAS, minister of ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), Dallas

There is no possibility of personal relationship without emotion. Religion means to develop one's loving relationship with God. Such a relationship involves emotion.

The soul is different from the body as a driver is different from his vehicle. Emotion is properly utilized when the individual acts upon the spiritual emotions of the soul, selfless service to God, rather than just the selfish motivations of the body.

There are 9 stages in developing ones spiritual perfection, a loving relationship with God. They are as follows:

1)Shraddha, Initial faith, then one seeks, 2)Sadhu Sanga, Saintly association, by such association one begins, 3)Bhajana-Kriya, Engaging in service with devotion, which causes, 4)Anarta nivritti, The unwanted tendencies in the heart to be eradicated, which is then followed by 5)Nistha, Firm faith which leads to, 6)Ruchi, Pure taste for devotion to God 7)Asakti, Actual attachment to God, 8)Bhava, Preliminary love of God, 9)Prema, Full in loving relationship with the Lord.

If one is governed by emotions that are motivated by the desires and needs of the material body and mind, one will be stunted in their spiritual growth. However if one purifies the mind, as in stage 4, from all lust, greed, envy, etc, then one can properly utilize ones emotions in spiritual growth.

As Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita Ch6.4-6,

"A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities.

One must deliver himself with the help of his mind, and not degrade himself. The mind is the friend of the conditioned soul, and his enemy as well. For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy."

Hare Krishna :)
Your humble servant,
Nityananda Chandra Das
http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/06/texas-faith-whats-the-role-of.html

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

I guess it was time for some purification alright!  It turned out to be of two types known well to devotees - the sublime and the challenging.  I arrived there with a bit of a dodgy stomach from too many chips fried in probably equally dodgy oil during my brief stay in Vrindavana.   No further details on this - you probably know the scenario.  Anyway, I was well on the mend on arrival in Mayapur dhama.  I was to stay with most remarkable Ramadevi, godsister of decades beyond belief.  This was a prime motive for coming to Mayapur as she is “seamstress” extraordinaire (as previously described) and I was desperately hoping she’d help me out with some clothes for our lovely Gaura Nitai as at this point they only had one set and no shirt patterns.  Sitala and I marched over in Hari Nama Sankirtana from her flat to Rama’s, each holding one of Their Lordships and feeling really ecstatic to be in the Dhama, chanting Hare Krishna along the road with Gaura Nitai.  Naturally, Rama was astonished and very happy to see Them at her door and even pleased to see me too.  They took Their place in Rama’s living room next to her altar with Srila Prabhupada and Giriraja.  From this point on They had fabulous breakfasts!  Because of only having one outfit, we made use of a couple of silk shawls that I’d bought and Rama turned them into “all in one” outfits” with no sewing as an interim measure.  As it goes, Gaura Nitai really looked great in this style and they have a few outfits like this now.  I am a lousy sewer so I guess my standard will be to use what I can that will work and accept with gratitude any “proper outfits” offered by those special entities gifted with the ability to sew.  It’s not right, as my dad was a master cutter and my mother could machine but something went wrong with the genes.  Anyway, this may come in as a useful tip for any other lousy sewers.

Rama is always engaged in making Pancatattva’s outfits and other arrangements for Their Lordships so I was very lucky that she made two nice dresses for Gaura Nitai, as well as some jewellery.  We are going to keep it pretty simple though.  Still, I guess that the Deities will gradually reveal Their “style.”  Here are some pics:  

Here is a picture of Giriraja who lives with Ramadevi.  

                                                                                           

 

At this time of year, in the hot season, there are not so many devotees in Mayapur.  The Gaura Purnima festival has passed but the local residents get really excited as there are other very special days to celebrate.  It was the first time that I had seen the Mayapur Boat Festival which is a grand week of nightime fun as small Radha Madhava are taken in procession from the temple to Srila Prabhupada’s Samadhi and then off They go on a boat around the lake.  Everyone turns out and brings pots of food preparations made in their own kitchens.  Offering after offering is made as the boat completes its journey round the pond to offload the maha prasad from the previous offering.  Somehow the pots find their way back to their owners who distribute the contents freely.  It is great fun and you never know what you are going to get next…..one minute Rama’s really hot halva and the next someone is pouring noodles or sweet rice into your outstretched hand.  Kirtans are wonderful and devotees are seated all round the lake paying obeisances as the Lords pass by.  The boat is rocked by enthusiastic brahmacaris to our fear and amazement as it continues its course without disaster.  Night after night this goes on and we all also get to offer ghee lamps as the Deities pass our sitting place allowing us to catch a glimpse of Them.  It’s a great family night out and everyone returns home intoxicated from the tasty preparations and wonderful festive mood, all under a starlit Mayapur sky.  

At this point we realised we had left our camera somewhere probably in Australia so there are no pics.  If you ‘d like to see some, I’m sure you will find them on www.mayapur.com   You’ll also get to see the photos of Sri Sri Radha Madhava during this week which is Candan Yatra.  It is the most stunning and exciting week and well looked forward to by dhama bhasis.   Big black Madhava’s exquisite form is anointed with sandalwood paste and so artfully done that it lasts all day without cracking or looking “clunky.”  (Clunky does not work for deity dressing or candan yatra.)  Kurma das brahmacari has had the service of smoothing the Lord’s body with candana for some years now and he has got it down to a fine art.  Somehow he manages to do it all and dress Srimati Radharani and Madhava with very nice turban and colourful painted decorations on top of the candan - all by the time of the Deity greeting (except for the first day which is a fantastic anti-climatic wait till the moment comes when the curtain opens and we’re knocked off our feet by the amazing beauty of Their Lordships).  All the other Deities have candana on Their foreheads but Madhava is the star of the show.  If you are ever unfortunate to be in India in this very hot time of year, you may well get sick from the heat, but you may also be fortunate enough to see Sri Madhava covered in candana.  The biggest surprise of all which actually somehow awakened some hope and desire in me to one day see Krishna in His spiritual abode, was the day that the candan was coloured blue!  Can you imagine!  If you didn’t know that this is being done, what you see is so out of your frame of reference that  you’re shocked into realising you are actually receiving the darshan of the Supreme all attractive Lord, Sri Krishna, of bluish colour, playing his flute with His consort, Srimati Radharana and the cowherd damsels gazing upon Him adoringly.  Of course, we kind of know conceptually that this is what darshan is about but from time to time, Krishna is so merciful that you actually experience a micro second of His divine presence in its ever freshness…………..your conceptual mind is blown to pieces as you are engaged in the experience of darshan.   Year after year, day by day we hear Yamuna’s loving rendition of the Govinda prayers…………another experience that is beyond ritual, that renews our faith and increases our love on a daily basis.  What a brilliant programme Srila Prabhupada established - requesting the Deities to come and receive our service from so early on in the establishment of ISKCON.  Who can surpass the genius of Srila Prabhupada, all such wonder coming from his pure desire to give us Krishna.  

Please see pics of Madhava at Candana Yatra on www.mayapur.com .  Hope there is one of the blue candana.

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

Book Review: Nature’s IQ: Extraordinary Animal Behaviors that Defy Evolution

Reviewed by Lavanya-mangala-devi dasi

Why do arctic terns fly 22,000 miles each year? How can a fish have both eyes on the same side of its body? What is the meaning of the complex patterns of dances performed by honeybees?

The answers to these questions and many more are shared in a virtual odyssey into the kingdom of nature entitled Nature’s IQ: Extraordinary Animal Behaviors that Defy Evolution (Torchlight Publishing, Inc. 2009). Released just after the 200^th Anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birthday, this English translation from the original Hungarian edition will delight inquisitive children, wizened sages, the young at heart, nature lovers, and Intelligent Design theorists alike. The authors, István Tasi (aka Isvara Krsna das), a Cultural Anthropologist and Theologian, and Balázs Hornyánszky, a Bioengineer, present case after compelling case supporting their thesis that Darwinian Evolution is not a logical sequitur of intricate and idiosyncratic animal behaviors but rather, natural intelligence reflects a supreme intelligence and designer. Richly illustrated, offering 200 exquisitely interesting color plates, this 160-page hardbound book scintillates with detail, intrigue, and wit, beckoning the curious reader onward into ensuing vignettes sparkling with enigmatic adventures of mysterious living entities.

A summary of “Darwin’s frogs” is given on pages 122-123:

Darwin himself discovered the frog in Chile (Rhinoderma darwinii). After female Darwin’s frogs lay their eggs on wet beaches, males sense the scent of the eggs and fertilize them. They then station themselves beside the eggs in groups and guard them for about twenty days. When the developing eggs begin to move in their tiny, jelly-like globules, the males lean over to them and gulp—they seemingly eat them! Of course, they do not eat the eggs but instead place them with their tongue into their long expandable vocal pouch, situated in the lower part of ther body. The eggs continue to develop in the vocal pouch until one day the male suddenly yawns widely, and the fully developed baby frogs jump out of his mouth….

…For viable offspring to hatch, the frog father must know that he has to keep an eye on the eggs. Furthermore, he has to have the instincts commanding the right behavior: when the young are about to hatch, he has to get them into his specially structured vocal pouch. And when they are fully developed, he has to set them free. If any of these elements were missing, the frog’s reproduction would be unsuccessful. Therefore, it is inconceivable that the Darwin’s frog and its special way of reproduction came into existence step by step, as a result of small changes….It is inconceivable that this frog species, with its specialized behavior, came into existence by a sudden large-scale mutation….The chance mutation of these genes causing a series of concerted, appropriate behaviors would be more than a miracle.

This excerpt provides one example of the methodology employed in analyzing and diffusing evolution theory in terms of reproduction and survival of offspring. Other sections cover predation, defense, symbiosis, animal communication, navigation, and mating behaviors.

The final chapter, entitled “The Source of Intelligence,” presents an alternative explanation referred to as “inverse evolution” from the Vedic ontology:

The Vedic account of the origin of species has three main principles: existence of a supreme person, living beings on other planets with special creative and multiplication abilities, and descent by modification.

The authors assert that incredible behavioral complexity, species diversity, amazing instinctual intelligence, and symbiotic relationships of living entities emanate from the source of all created beings, the Godhead, as described in elaborate detail throughout the voluminous ancient scriptures of East India. They conclude that “In reality, nature’s IQ is the creator’s IQ.”

Employing a distinctly innovative approach, Nature’s IQ offers original and valuable insights for the Intelligent Design community; however, Charles Darwin’s followers might also find it interesting!

Nature’s IQ website: http://www.naturesiq.com

Available from: http://www.torchlight.com and http://www.mcremo.com/order.htm

Bhagavata-sparsa is a new three-month course offered to you under the direction of Sri Gopiparanadhana Prabhu by the Srimad-Bhagavata Vidyapitham, an educational project set up by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. HH Bhakti Purusottama Swami and HH Umapati Swami inaugurated the course and offered their blessings to students. Bhakti Purusottama Maharaja stated that educational institutions are the real ornaments of Mayapur. He thanked Vidvan Gauranga prabhu for working hard to establish Srimad Bhagavat Vidyapitam in Mayapur.

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