Hare Krishna! My name is Rita, and I am a new resident of New Vrindaban Dham. My service is to be the Temple Lobby Hostess. I enjoy this service very much. I greet guests when they arrive and give informal tours of the temple room. I point out some of the beautiful features of the temple room, such as the stained glass ceiling and hand-woven tapestries. I then introduce guests to the Deities, and tell some of the lilas that have taken place right here in New Vrindaban. My goal is to make the guests excited about and interested in Krishna Consciousness.

I also escort guests around the property, especially in the afternoon, when the altars are closed. I take guests to see the peacocks, Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold, etc.

I always try to get the guests to fill out a “Community Guest Book” form, so that they will be added to our mailing list. People on our mailing list receive regular e-mails regarding New Vrindaban news, festivals, and other events.

I also encourage guests to take home Prabhupada’s books. If guests promise to chant every day, I give them a free set of japa beads –- their promise is the payment.

When necessary, I also sweep the temple lobby and re-stock the temple book display.

I enjoy this service very much. I meet so many interesting people! I intend to write regular reports about who I am meeting. Here is the first edition.

I met a couple from Ohio this week, and the husband and wife were both absolutely delightful. He had met a devotee at his college in 1970. He made a small donation — fifty cents was all he had. In return, the devotee gave him a card with the Maha Mantra. He took the card home and chanted for about five minutes, but then started giggling and stopped.

He told me that although he never chanted again, it was always in the back of his mind. Recently, he decided to pursue Krishna Consciousness again. He purchased a copy of KRSNA Book. He said he had to read it three or four times to “get straight who is who and get all the relationships right. That was the hardest part.” During our conversations, I was very impressed with how much he had understood from KRSNA Book.

KRSNA Book awakened his interest in spirituality. By Krishna’s arrangement, he purchased and read multiple books by Prabhupada’s disciples, without realizing the authors are associated with Prabhupada’s movement. When I asked him what interested him about these books, he said confidently, “I am interested in transcendence.”

Recently, he purchased japa beads and has been chanting at home. His wife asked him how he knows the Maha Mantra works. He told her, “Because I can feel it working. The first time I chanted, it was very intense. It was like Krishna was welcoming me back — like if you take one step toward Krishna, he will take ten steps toward you. That is the only intense experience I have had. Now the chanting is more steady.” I felt very blessed by Krishna to hear this pastime.

His wife was absolutely wonderful. She is a devout Catholic, so I had the opportunity to share with her the non-sectarianism of Krishna consciousness. She was extremely respectful toward Krishna consciousness, even though she is very happily situated in the Catholic Church. In fact, she was wonderful.

I explained to them Vrindavan and New Vrindavan are non-different, and that all the spiritual benefits that can be gained from doing pilgrimage to Vrindavan can be gained from doing pilgrimage to New Vrindavan. The husband looked thoughtful. He said, “I hadn’t thought of this as a pilgrimage before.”

She chastised him mildly, saying, “You didn’t think of it as a pilgrimage? I thought of it that way.”

Thank you for reading this report. Hare Krishna!

jnana-vairagya-yuktena
bhakti-yogena yoginau
ksemaya pada-mulam me
pravisanty akuto-bhayam

The yogis, equipped with transcendental knowledge and renunciation and engaged in devotional service for their eternal benefit, take shelter of My lotus feet, and since I am the Lord, they are thus eligible to enter into the kingdom of Godhead without fear.

One who actually wants to be liberated from the entanglement of this material world and go back home, back to Godhead, is actually a mystic yogi. The words explicitly used here are yuktena bhakti-yogena. Those yogis, or mystics, who engage in devotional service are the first-class yogis. The first-class yogis, as described in Bhagavad Gita, are those who are constantly thinking of the Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna (link). These yogis are not without knowledge and renunciation. To become a bhakti-yogi means to automatically attain knowledge and renunciation. That is the consequent result of bhakti-yoga. In the Bhagavatam, First Canto, Second Chapter (link), it is also confirmed that one who engages in the devotional service of Vasudeva, Krishna, has complete transcendental knowledge and renunciation, and there is no explanation for these attainments. Ahaituki—without reason, they come. Even if a person is completely illiterate, the transcendental knowledge of the scriptures is revealed unto him simply because of his engagement in devotional service. That is also stated in the Vedic literature. To anyone who has full faith in the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the spiritual master, all the import of the Vedic literatures is revealed. He does not have to seek separately; the yogis who engage in devotional service are full in knowledge and renunciation. If there is a lack of knowledge and renunciation, it is to be understood that one is not in full devotional service. The conclusion is that one cannot be sure of entrance into the spiritual realm—in either the impersonal brahmajyoti effulgence of the Lord or the Vaikuntha planets within that Brahman effulgence—unless he is surrendered unto the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord. The surrendered souls are called akuto-bhaya. They are doubtless and fearless, and their entrance into the spiritual kingdom is guaranteed.

Srimad Bhagavatam 3.25.43 (link)

For many weeks now, I have been battling writer's block. I have been whirling through many adventures on the East Coast, but I find myself at a loss for how to convey the movements of my heart on paper, to the public.

Rural Output

Brampton, Ont.

Our visiting Sanyasi (monk) has been Bhakti Ragahva Swami, perhaps one of our very best examples as an ascetic. He is extraordinarily passionate about the need for establishing economic stability through agrarian living. The swami spends considerable time in Cambodia, not far from tourist attraction Ankor Wat. I understand he is planting seeds in the hearts of those who would consider planting seeds in the ground. Most of the congregation are immigrants from India working in business or professional capacities. But they were listening. It was not a case for deaf ears. What does filter trough their minds is, “how can I possibly think of becoming a farmer, or even a gardener?”

It is a fact that few people think of becoming or leading a life in rural glory and giving themselves a good physical exercise with the earth, wind, fire, water, snow, space. As a statistic 1% of Canadians are found to be operating farms.

So what is the use in talking up the “Ghandi, Weave your own cloth”, way of life? Bhakti Ragavha swami is trying to set us up for disaster preparedness. Sustainable communities is a daring and bold step into progressive life. Chances are that when we see a wholesale breakdown of modern society’s system then people will spring into action as you may not survive otherwise.

While walking with an Isralie companion through usual bustling art gallery district of Toronto I wondered, “what if it all crumbles due to a retardation of economic flow?”

As a monastic person you have little to lose but in a more philanthropic mode what will happen to everything else?

10 KM

So Natural!

Caledon, Ontario

On the previous night a program for Bhakti-yoga was cancelled. Our new following in Scarborough (east Toronto) was renting a space with another spiritual organization but the group became somewhat jealous when they saw members of their group gravitating to our sessions. The end result, our going there weekly is no more.

Everyone Likes Bhakti!

What was original today was a retreat at the Hart House farm where Devadatta was an instructor for a yoga class while I taught a workshop in Bhakti-yoga. Our twenty registered guests had a great time. They especially scored well in their composing prayer and poetry. They also had an incredible knack towards remembering details of friends newly-made and relaying those details before our group. Where it went really awesome was during Kirtan time. Chanting and dancing were activities that were relished beyond description.

The food rated high. To our surprise our cook, Shyama Mohini came up with a Kheer made from Soy milk mixed with vermicelli noodles. It became our dessert. The only stumbling block was a nature walk when the mosquitos forced our group to change direction. Otherwise, yes, everyone loves Bhakti. It comes so natural.

10 KM

Canada / U.S.

Toronto, Ontario

After a flight from Columbus to La Guardia, then a cab to the John F. Kennedy airport in New York catching a flight to Toronto and waiting in line at Canada customs. I was ready for my legs to hit the ground. Whew! The sun shone. Great! I asked my pick up person, Devadatta to drop me off for a break from machines so eastward bound I go on St. Claire Avenue.

A road construction crew was busy at re-enforcing the street car rail lines. The city has several street car lines especially running east-west. As a toddler our guru, Srila Prabhupada., living in Kolkata and looking at the tram car system got the idea to stand on the tram rail line, hold a stick that would reach up to the perambulator power line and then be able to move him just like the street car. So it is recorded in his biography. It gave me a laugh.

There is a marked difference between the two countries, Canada and the U.S. The U.S., a determined free way shopper culture leaves Canada lagging a bit behind in this area. Canada is a preserved multi-cultural experience whereas the U.S. is more of a national melting pot. The U.S. is louder and says what’s on it’s mind where as Canada is a bit more reserved and conservative. These are just obvious observations.

Deep down inside we are all spirits. To our detriment we rubber-stamp our souls as American, Canadian, Hindhu, Christian, man, woman, etc. But we are none of these identities, we are spirits!

10 KM

From a recent presentation by HG Radha-Krsna Prabhu at New Vrindaban Dham

This is a excellent and very detailed of the specific wonders and efforts that have made New Vraja Dham a real fulfillment of Prabhupada's vision for Vedic village life.

Istagosthi Notes - May 12, 2009

The visiting devotees from New Vraja Dhama (NVD) in Hungary presented a lot of information about their community, what it does, and how it works.

A total of 25 devotees attended the Istagosthi. There were a number of other options also scheduled at the same timing (a pizza "party" for all the festival workers), so attendance was down a little.

New Vraja Dhama (NVD) is also known as Eco Valley or Krsna Valley and is tucked in Hungary in the middle of Austria , Croatia , Romania and more. Hungary is a very small country about ½ the size of Mumbai. There are 2 temple, 1 in the capital and the farm project (New Vraja Dhama). There are 10 other centers around Hungary . There are about 1000 congregational members.

In Hungary there are 11 Eco villages (according to the standards set by the University there). Of these 11 villages only 2 are sustainable in the 3 areas of Environmentally, Socially, and Economically, one of which is New Vraja Dhama (NVD).

In NVD the temple building is in the center of all the other buildings. And Radhe Shyam are the Center of the Center. Everything in NVD is considered to be the abode of Radhe Shyam, so everything is kept up to a very high standard of cleanliness - the buildings, the surroundings, the grass, the trees, the cow barn are considered like the altar. Even the cow barn looks like you could eat off the floor. The devotees express their love and devotion through offering opulent flower garlands, more than just jewelry.

NVD has 550 acres, 800 different types of trees in the forest. The housing area is made up of apartment buildings with 6 flats in each building.

The temple is in the middle and there is a road called "The Milky Way" which leads to the goshala. There are 130 devotees living directly on the property and these devotees are all fed from the vegetable garden and the orchard. They have 150 beehives and sell a lot of honey. The Missionary Grhastra Community is to establish Varnashrama.

The land was purchased in 1993 and the main building constructed from 1993 to 1996. The Housing Area was developed next and The development of agriculture began in 1995 with $15,000.

About 130 devotees live on the temple property itself (40 couples, 20 children and 30 bramacaris) and another forty live in the nearby village. There are 11 Divisions of Activities with 44 different Departments. The 11 Divisions are: Education, Book Distribution, Social Care, Devotee Supplies, Eco Valley , Tourism, NVD Controlling (Administration - book keeping and preaching), Agriculture, Temple , Development (construction) and Business.

They use fructose and honey and no sugar. They do have to buy their butter to make ghee. But they cook only their own vegetables for the Deities (Radhe Shyam) and they use wood to cook.

There is a handicraft studio. The Social Care and Health Care is especially for the children, elders, mothers, and those will long term diseases.

When babies are born, they are offered to the Deities on the altar. Everything belongs to Radhe Shyam.

Each and everyone is engaged from the youngest to the oldest. There are only 4 children in the gurukula right now.

They have severe winters (almost like at New Vrindaban), they get snow for about 5 to 6 weeks. And their frost average is from the Beginning of November to the beginning of May. There do not have so much rain there

One of the biggest festivals is the Harvest Festival and also the Killing of Ravana. The children go collecting bhoga from the householders to bring to the Deities for Their Feast.

When visitors first see the goshalla they think it is a temple. It is called the Palace of the cows. The goshalla is pristine clean. Even the temple lawyer said he wanted to be born as a cow in that barn. Srila Sridhara Swami came and chanted his rounds with the cows.

The cows are milked by hand. There are cows with no babies that have been giving milk for 2 or 3 years before they even had a baby (about 2 to 3 liters per day). Every wedding ceremony includes feeding the cows chapattis, carrots and apples. The cows give over 3500 gallons of milk (per year?)

The Harvest Festival is the biggest festival of the year and they harvest the grain and grind the grain and offer the first chapatti to Govardhana. Everyone helps.

They produce 8 different kinds of grains, mostly for bread and chapattis.

They have 2 tractors and produce 10 times more grain than they need. There are 8 acres put aside just to cultivate with the oxen which provides enough for the entire community for the whole year. They also produce the grains for the animals.

All the houses are very colorful. They have rabbits, fox, 11 deer and some ground hogs. They deal with some animals by putting bottles in the soil with the top part sticking out. (Cruelty free animal control).

They do not produce anything for the outside market. They just try to produce enough for the devotees.

They grow more than 50 types of vegetables. They began by producing 80 to 100 differently types, including 40 different types of tomatoes. The cooks and pujari department gives a list to the garden about which vegetables are the best for cutting, peeling and storing for the winter and then the garden department tries to grow these things. They now only produce 5 different types of tomatoes that fit these qualifications. They grow cooperatively. They are working to provide for other temples.

The produce for the festivals are separate. They get 30,000 tourists and they are paying $6 - $7 to enter and go on a guided tour.

There are two separate types of tours - a 45 minute tour of the temple. Group tours last from 1.5 to 2.5 hours and care cultural programs for 100 - 120 guests. AT the end of the program everyone passes by the altar and they explain who is there and how their life is centered around the Deities. There is a peacock fan and they ask everyone to make a wish and fan Radhe Shyam (karma kanda).

Also in their website they ask tourists to bring some fruits and or flowers and they have a huge plate on the altar. Everyone sits down for a bhajan, then a pantomime or Bharanatium dance, a short 5 - 10 minute class. Then the guests are invited to dress up (as devotees) if they like or they can pray. So, they give them dhotis and saris and some play kartalas or whompers and at the very end they stand up and even dance.

For this they pay $15 - 20 per person, not including prasadam. Everyone is charged for prasadam. This is one set meal for prasadam, and 1 plate is usually enough. They don't feel preached to.

The "Bucsu" Festival for non-devotees - 6 to 8,0000 people. It is a 3 day Festival. They pay to come and spend 2 to 3 days. In the main tent 500 people with many different programs. There is a handicraft village at the Goshalla.

The Reality Show where guests get to experience "being" a devotee. The 1^st room they go into is they are dressed in devotee clothes with Tilak and bindi and they are explain the importance of wearing these clothing. 2^nd room - what is mantra meditation, ½ to 1 round together. 3^rd room - give them ready made dough and they make a puri and they fry it. 4^th room - Guests offer the puri and then told they can eat their puri.

They make sure they give everyone a receipt because the government agency sends representatives to check (in incognito).

They hire a train so people can go around the whole farm easily. Tourists are not allowed to visit the housing area.

They make a prasadam tent which is 1000 square feet.

There are 3 levels of Eco - Consciousness:

Preach to the scientists

The Indians - Living in harmony with the body - pure veg food - do not use any chemicals, yoga, mantra meditation

The Society

The Environment - Develop Eco - Ethics culture can be sustainable.

Living in a way that is in harmony by understanding our own Nature.

Scientific, Educational, Cooperative, representation and lobbying and communication

Scientific level - all fields of activity - Societal - (2 ministries), preventative, environmental protection, nature conservation, agriculture, Land Management, Water Management, Waste Management.

3 Main Results

1. International and cooperation - between Hungary and India (Ministries) on the governmental level.

2. Conferences for Ecological Sustainability. Signed cooperation with 6 universities. We can tutor students on the farm. Universities sending students to farm. They spend 2 to 3 months at the farm for practicum.

3. Ecological Workshops in Universities. They set the up and devotees give the lecture.

They have a Botanical garden with 800 types of trees and 1000 different plants, 109 species of birds.

There is a rain water collecting lake.

Lord Shiva's temple is in the Dhama. Also Srila Prabhupada's Samadhi. There are 650-700 Holy places all around the Farm (Varsana, Nandagram, Brahma ghat and Kaliya ghat.

- little hills and lakes), How Vrindaban manifests in NVD. They will be holding their first International Parikram.

Plans for the future

1. To expand the housing area and standardize the houses using straw bale on the outside.

2. Eco Portal - They applied for a grant to construct a research and educational center a conference room for 50 people which can be divided into smaller rooms. It will also have a library and offices.

3. Ayurvedic Clinic for everyone. Health care. Indian doctors to come for 6 months to volunteer and train up others.

4. Sewage system - the roots of reeds break down the waster water. A reep plantation which doesn't smell. Everything works by gravity.

5. Bamboo plantation and Energy plantation.

Questions and Answers: They use 8 acres of crops to feed 150 people year round. They need to have proper storage, a root cellar. Their root cellar is 3 times larger than the prasadam room and is divided into 3. The 1^st part is the Root vegetables, the middle section is for the canned fruits, and the 3^rd section is all the other fruits. (Cannot mix everything because certain gases make the other food spoil.

How do they can? They made 4,500 (5 liter - 1.5 gallon) bottles of canned fruits and veggies.

The canning arrangement is from the 1^st of April until October 31^st. Two times per week each devotees on the farm (except those with very specific services) goes into the garden for 1.5 hours in the morning. Currently there are about 60 devotees doing this. The matajis stay in the temple room and listen to a Prabhupada lecture which they are cutting vegetables.

By the main kitchen there are huge vats where everything is cooked. There are gas stoves and woks. Huge pots fit into one wok. They boil the empty bottles and then keep them hot, then add the cooked fruits and veggies and turn the bottle upside down and a vacuum is created, which keep the supplies fresh. They make fruits and jams and vegetable preserves.

There are certain grains that cannot be grown. They cannot grow rice. So for self-sufficiency that have investigated what grains people used during the World Wars and that is what they are planting. They are changing their rice eating habit. Rice acts to cool the body. The hung grains will heat the body. The breed house has spinach and leafy greens in April.

Due to the climate, they start the first veggies in mid June until October. Later on there are some pumpkins and squash.

According to research the grains that will works are Kasha (t) Barley, Amaranth.

No one lies in the temple, everyone lives around the temple Everyone goes to Mangal Arotik and yet there are different stages - pregnant matajis or diseased persons and those with different services sometimes dont' for 2 to 3 days. Just making sure there is an effort, but sometimes cannot come because of children. But the effort is there.

Eco - ethics - social part - there is a whole slide show (1.5 hours), just on this aspect of the community. The rules and regulations of the community are much more than just 4 regulations and 16 rounds and reading SP books. The eco-ethics is a mutually accepted shared ethics and morals that both individuals and the Community accept. This is the basis of everything working together as a whole unit

There is a value system - devotees through these morals and ethics - which is what your life is based on. If your value system is different than this community may not be for you. It is not for everyone. Not everyone can be a missionary or doctor.

Some Grhastra devotees work outside - the Bramacaris all live at the temple.

The main principles of not forcing anyone express to stay. People are encourages to leave if they don't fit in. Joining into a system - Joining a temple community or a village. Who do we want to join????

A place for everyone and everyone in their place. They came together to work on this. Joining the system. How to join ISKCON Hungary. Membership. There are many opportunities even for "nondevotees." : Supporter, sponsor, volunteer, and missionary. The last two can stay in the temple''To join the temple there is a 6 weeks Bhakta program which guests pay for which teaches the culture of how to behave. If they can't afford to pay they can stay for 3 months to work for free stay. This is based on Sri Upadeshamrta.

After this you can apply for a 1 year course. If accepted you can do missionary work - sankirtan, etc for 6 months. Here they get training on the Bhagavad-gita. After 1 year training, the encourage people to go out and start their own lives.

Next there is a 4 year course which is a correspondance course - An approved BA in Vaisnava Theology..

You figure out the nature of a person and engage them accordingly. Bhakta Astrix, music, Sanskrit, Astrology, and Sad dharsha. After the 7^th year is over, they have been in the movement for years. They can get initiation anytime in that time period if they are interested, or not. They understand what they are doing and why they are there.

There is a personal Interview with each candidate and 90% of them are encouraged to go outside. They are the supporters, sponsors and congregation. ISKCON was good at making enemies with their own people.

With this system everyone knows the expectations in the beginning. They want to give their lives. They reconfirm their commitments over and over and re-apply. We always try to convert the bad experiences into good learning.

Two times per week in the morning for 1.5 hours, devotees go out to the garden. 80 % are coming from the cities and everyone is encouraged to go out in the garden. This is not so easy but it is emphasized. V

There is an internal education system - the Istagosthis are compulsory to attend.

There is a policy for Grhastras that each can apply to the Administration - head of the farm apply for a grant to expand or start a garden in their own home. The farm is giving the money to the grhastras and they promise to give 10% of the crops to the devotees for free.

Devotees experiencing that they are saving money by growing their own food.

This grant money is for developing, not for maintenance. The grhastras are eager to develop. In the very beginning theywere given some seeds, some greed beans, which grow extremely easily. And then they all became fired up in gardening. Wh didn't want to have a garden.

There is also a financial pushing that if a department does not send someone to the garden (because they have a specific other service), that Department is then responsible to pay to the temple for their employees that have not gardened. This is an incentive for the Department heads to send everyone.

When we look at New Vrindaban we see that you have everything. You have a Holy Tirtha where SP graced this place by his personal presence. You have many devotees who heard SO personally. You all just need to come together. These Istagosthis are great to come together and to figure it out together. You need to figure it out inside our your community.

You have the biggest potential - there are many parts working you just need to figure out what are your next steps.

You have everything. You have much more opulence than you can measure. You have Land, cows, devotees, community.

AND you have lots of bad experience. You have the experiences and the solutions among all of you. Please do not wait for anyone to come to tell you what to do.

Keep having Istagosthis and start working on cooperation. That cooperation will resolve everything here. You will be the most flourishing in the whole world.

You have everything. We would like to encourage you to come together as much as possible. Do the brainstorming work. List all that Srila Prabhupada told you personally. List all the facilities you have. You will see that nothing is missing.

What is going on here?? We never had Srila Prabhupada's personal association in Hungary . Someone brought him a watermelon from Hungary . That is our only direct contact with Srila Prabhupada.

You have all the knowledge. Just don't wait. Sit down maybe for 12 days or 2 weeks straight. You could have a whole structure and plans to go forward and very soon you could have more that we have.

Most Srila Prabhupada disciples are old. You can do it right now in your lifetime. Just start doing it.

Siva Ram Swami has encouraged you all not to depend on him. But he is the driving force and all the success is because of his strong and firm commitment to fulfill Srila Prabhupada's desire. He also tried in UK and moved to Hungary . Poverty was so high that it could work. There are 12 centers in Hungary - what will happen after Siva Ram leaves. He is trying to address that issue right now.

One Yatra President fulfills Srila Prabhupada

S mission. WE have many center leaders, but we have One Mission and One Goal. Cooperation. His vision is so broad that SPM is always asking for advice. He is training us up.

Start having One Vision - not 2 or 3. Come together and work together and just do it.

Don't wait for someone to come new and say follow me. Just do it.

We are going in that direction.

It is a matter of respect. The basis of our success is that we respect the Individual, the environment and have all respect towards Krsna. If respect is there you can make it. If is is not - you won't make it.

Encouraging for me to see that an entire group of people are coming together. None of the managers are there???

How old is the oldest child in Hungary ? 21 who moved with the mother when she was 5 and went to the gurukula and got married and has a daughter.

The Amish people are doing this. They send their children away if they back in 2 year, they are welcome, if not they do not come back. Some Amish do this (not all).

So many communities that can learn from New Vrindaban's mistakes. Try to see the elements that would be proper to apply in our Vaisnava culture.

How many independent people come together???

No private agreements. When someone builds a house - that is considered to be a loan to the community. They are paid back to them if they ever leave the community. If the value has increased, they are paid back. Not like an investment - But they never own the land, it is just given to them for use but it belongs to ISKCON.

1. Rural lifestyle

2. Pilgrimage - tourism.

How to balance these two. Challenge how the 2 can work together.

On the 12th of June, 1968, Srila Prabhupada nicely explained the word 'sannyasa' by breaking the word into sanskrit syllables: "This is Sanskrit word, sat-nyasa. This is sannyasa. Sat means the Supreme, the Absolute Truth. And nyasa means renounced. One who has renounced everything for the service of the Supreme, he is called a sannyasa. Sannyasa does not mean a particular type of dress or particular type of beard. Sannyasa means you can become a sannyasi even with your, this coat-pant. It doesn't matter, provided you have dedicated your life for the service of God.

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Marjorie from Texas writes:

"What is the difference between Allspice and Mixed Spice?"

My reply:

This is a good question Marjorie. Mixed spice is a sweet spice combination, usually containing cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe some cloves and maybe mace and allspice.

Allspice is also known as pimento. Pimento is also a name for the small red chilies, also called pimiento, that are commonly pickled and stuffed inside olives. So there is sometimes a confusion. Allspice berries (also known as pimento) are what we are talking of here.

Pimento is an essential ingredient of Jamaican cooking and the essential ingredient in jerk sauce. The wood was first used to smoke jerk in Jamaica to produce the characteristic flavour. Nowadays the berries serve as a good substitute.

Dried pimento berries look like larger, browner versions of whole black pepper, but have a very different, unique flavour. Pimento is also a good home remedy for upset stomach in which case it is either chewed or crushed up and used to make tea. It is used in the preparation of bean dishes, not only because of its excellent flavour but because it is believed to reduce the flatulence caused by beans.

Pimento was discovered in Jamaica by Spanish explorers in 1509. The name originates from the Spanish 'pimenta' (pepper or peppercorn). Most people call the tree 'pimento' and the berries 'allspice'. Because the pimento berry has the flavour and aroma characteristic of cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and pepper all combined in one spice, it is called allspice.

Pimento is used in sauces, pickling, cakes and curry powders.

Here's loads more information...

"Such a basic commitment should not waver, even though one does not feel he is making progress spiritually by his daily chanting. We realize that we have a mountain of dirty things to chip away at, so it is no surprise that a lifetime can go by of steadily chanting and still unwanted things remain in the heart. That is not a reason to abandon the only chance one has for eradicating the dirt."

Bhajana Kutir #104

H H Sri Giriraja Swami Maharaj Performed Guru Puja To Srila Prabhupada. Sura Dasa Prabhu and Naikatma Dasa Prabhu lead ecsatic kirtans at New Dwarka Temple, Los Angeles, CA USA on August 24, 2008

This material existence is a bewildering quagmire for those who have not realized the source and purpose of their existence. If we do not know why we exist, how can we have a meaningful existence? We cannot. All we will be able to do is invent a so-called meaning and try to live happily in the bubble of our dream world. But all bubbles eventually burst................... ================================================================== Thought...

The second issue of the 16Rounds to Samadhi newspaper is printed! 20,000 copies are waiting to be distributed all over the San Diego and Los Angeles areas.

The printing cost was $1,983.10. To make a contribution towards covering this cost click the “contribute” button:

Sinai is a new devotee from San Diego.

Sinai: My boyfriend and I went to buy groceries at People’s in Ocean Beach and he picked up a book from the Sastra Dana book rack there. He said I should read that book. I guess he had read a book before so he told me I should read this one and that it is very interesting. So my first book was The Higher Taste. I read it and thought it to be pretty cool. I let one of my friends borrow it. After he read it he said that he now understood why I became a vegetarian.

I needed some kind of support as at that time my family was against me being vegetarian. They were telling me that I needed to eat meat. I told them that I didn’t and told them to read this book. I also let my sister borrow The Higher Taste and she became vegetarian.

I kept going to People’s and eventually picked up another book from the same rack. It was a different book. I don’t remember the name of it. It was pretty much talking about reincarnation…

Sastra Dana: …Beyond Birth and Death?

Sinai: …yes, Beyond Birth and Death. Yes. So I read that one too and thought it to be some pretty crazy stuff. I kept reading the books.

One day I went to Fashion Valley. There I met Balarama. He gave me a copy of The Journey of Self Discovery. I always keep it with me, just to remember how I got started with Krishna consciousness. Balarama was excepting donations for the book and I gave him five bucks. Later on I found out its cost was nine dollars so I put a few more dollars in the donation box as I felt kind of bad. Balarama invited me to come to the Krishna Lounge and I liked it. I thought it was a pretty cool environment. He then gave me another little flyer to come over to the temple. I came and I really liked it. Then I just kind of got hooked on it and ever since I’ve been coming to the classes and keep reading the Bhagavad-gita. I also try to help around the temple a little bit, whatever I can do to try to help.

• A few pictures of our rack at People’s Coop in Ocean Beach:

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.29 - Human life enables one to understand the Absolute Truth.

“The Economy Is Still at the Brink,” warns Sandy Lewis and William Cohan in a full-page op-ed piece in the Sunday Times of June 7. With the coverage and mayhem of a shotgun blast, the authors let loose at the President’s remedial programs and advance their own remedies. Periodically the text balloons into sections of [...]

"Losing faith in the chanting is another thing. Such a basic commitment should not waver, even though one does not feel he is making progress spiritually by his daily chanting. We realize that we have a mountain of dirty things to chip away at, so it is no surprise that a lifetime can go by of steadily chanting and still unwanted things remain in the heart. That is not a reason to abandon the only chance one has for eradicating the dirt. It is important to keep the other parts of the vow made at initiation, the promise to follow the four rules—no intoxication, no meat eating, no gambling, and no illicit sex. If these promises gradually drop away, then it will be hard to cling to the one promise of chanting in isolation in a life that has become totally materialistic. But even if all that remains is the chanting, one should cling to it like a lifesaver in the ocean and not drop it, thinking that one is too offensive or too sinful to chant."

Satsvarupa dasa Goswami - June 16, 3:09 A.M.

I had a peaceful night and woke a quarter to three with a clear head. I’ve just radioed Narayana and started my japa.

4:21 A.M.

Early-morning japa log

I did eight rounds in under six minutes per round. I chanted mostly in my mind, with a slight whisper. I read in Caitanya Bhagavata that Haridasa Thakura chanted a section of his three hundred thousand rounds silently. When he chanted loudly, the people outside his cave could hear the chanting and benefit. Also, the trees and grass could hear. But he did chant a section of his rounds just in his own mind. So I have that precedent. I chant in a whisper because it’s easier on my body, and it enables me to go faster. My mind didn’t wander to other topics but kept fixed on the sound vibration of the mantra. That much I can honestly say. As for tears in the eyes and standing of hair on end, there is none of that. So my heart must still be steel-framed. But I enjoy the chanting and feel that I am doing it with devotion. I believe that Krishna and Radha must be hearing my whispered cries, because I am chanting for Their pleasure as well as my own benefit. The timing was very efficient, and I did it without any special effort. It just came out that way.

Japa essay

On winning the NBA championship, basketball star Kobe Bryant said, “I feel as if a huge monkey has been lifted off my back.” When I finish my daily quota of japa, I feel as if a monkey has been lifted off my back. Of course, it is a guaranteed thing that I will finish my vow every day. But until it is completed, I am not relieved. Prabhupada has given us the sixteen-round quota, and it must be done. It is a pleasure to be able to complete the quota and keep that bond with him every day. It makes you feel successful in your personal commitment to him. Sometimes some of the later rounds are not done as well as the beginning rounds. There is a touch of getting them out of the way. But sometimes that doesn’t happen, and you go strong through the whole quota. That is best. The concept of completing a solemn vow every day is very good for one’s sadhana. And chanting some extra makes you feel good. You feel clean and honest, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. It must be done, even if you have a headache and some of the last rounds are of poor quality.

Initiated devotees who don’t complete their sixteen rounds are missing out on spiritual life. Krishna forgives them, but they have let themselves down in a basic way. Once a devotee who was not chanting anymore told me that he took the vow when he was only nineteen years old, and he did not feel responsible for a decision made at such a young age. But that is not the right attitude. There may have been a risk involved in taking a lifelong vow at a young age, but one should feel responsible for it and not take it as an immature decision. You came before Krishna with an innocent and open heart and made the promise, and He accepted it. Life is short enough, and not that much changes in growing from nineteen to twenty-nine to thirty-nine and so on. At least not that much changes in a vow made to God, although much may change externally in one’s worldly affairs.

Losing faith in the chanting is another thing. Such a basic commitment should not waver, even though one does not feel he is making progress spiritually by his daily chanting. We realize that we have a mountain of dirty things to chip away at, so it is no surprise that a lifetime can go by of steadily chanting and still unwanted things remain in the heart. That is not a reason to abandon the only chance one has for eradicating the dirt. It is important to keep the other parts of the vow made at initiation, the promise to follow the four rules—no intoxication, no meat eating, no gambling, and no illicit sex. If these promises gradually drop away, then it will be hard to cling to the one promise of chanting in isolation in a life that has become totally materialistic. But even if all that remains is the chanting, one should cling to it like a lifesaver in the ocean and not drop it, thinking that one is too offensive or too sinful to chant.

I chant my rounds

as daily vow.

It’s not so hard to

find two hours

when you have decided

it’s a must.

Two hours out of twenty-four

as a promise made

long ago to the spiritual master.

“I can do it, I will do it,” is the required resolution

to complete a task

of sustaining holy utterance.

I may not be doing

much else in my spiritual life,

but I keep this vow

with faith. It’s Kali Yuga’s

antidote to hopelessness.

7:01 A.M.

It’s always cloudy at the beach, never a sunrise. I didn’t listen to a lecture by Prabhupada yesterday. I hunger for his latest speeches so I can repeat them. He has been lecturing that worship of Krishna should be taken up by everyone, regardless of motive. In the Brhad-bhagavatamrta, the bhakti-sastras are completing their condemnation of the impersonalists. They say there are thousands of statements in the sastras that prove the Supreme is a person and that the jivas are His eternal fragmental parts. There is no substantiation that after liberation, a jiva merges with the Supreme and becomes equal in all respects with the one impersonal Brahman. The Bhagavatam states that those who merge with the brahmajyoti eventually fall down from that position and have to take birth again in the material world. They become bored in the brahmajyoti because there is no personal relationship or activities. On a morning walk in Mayapur, Prabhupada said that if we had to choose between standing alone in the agricultural field or going to Calcutta, we would finally go to Calcutta, because we seek activity. The bhakti-sastras state that even demons attain liberation, so how can it be more exalted than bhakti? Only bhakti brings us real liberation, which is to join with Krishna and His entourage in the spiritual world and never come back to the material world of repeated birth and death. This is stated in the Bhagavad-gita: “One who knows the nature of My appearance and activities does not at the time of death come back to this material world but joins Me in My eternal abode” (Bg. 4.9.). The bhakti-sastras soundly defeat the impersonal scriptures, and Gopa-kumara gives up the desire for liberation and aspires to be a bhakta. He has met up with many different opinions in his traveling through the universe, but by steadily chanting his Gopala mantra, given to him by his spiritual master, he remains steady in his resolve to worship Madana-gopal in Vraja. By steadily chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, we will also weather the storms of differing opinions, and even survive falldowns to maya. Chanting Hare Krishna purifies us of all misconceptions and sinful activities.

9:00 A.M.

1

Poetry is real,

it’s sport and special,

like a treat.

We saw a sunrise weeks

ago, since then it’s been

foggy, but poems grow

on trees in the fog, too.

Krishna is the object of the

best poetry, when He is

praised by His devotees in

uttama-sloka.

Devotees can even please Him

from positions without

great skill if they put aside

other works and desire only

to serve Him.

Best poems capture love of

the Supreme in a simple

way straight from the heart.

Krishna says He lives only in the hearts

of His devotees, and they live only

in His heart—even devotees

of His devotees are dear to Him.

So poems have to hit the mark

of pure bhakti without

jnana and karma to be

appreciated by the Lord, and

that’s not easy.

2

I sit in silence, wondering

if I’ll ever reach pure

devotion for Bhagavan.

It’s very rare, and you have to

work at it many years and lifetimes,

ecstatic symptoms manifest on

the body.

I work on my japa in a

mechanical way, praying for something

better. It may come, I don’t know.

If I could sacrifice my comforts for

His service and celebrate His

victories in sastras, I might

have a chance.

I sit in silence, wondering if I’ll

ever reach Him. He knows me

through His pure devotee. I have

a chance there if I can please

him. I’ll try to finish my life

in his service, following his basic

commands and living up to them

and remembering his sweetness

in gratitude.

Oh Prabhupada, please don’t

leave me, accept my little efforts

and give me strength to

please you.

11:00 A.M.

Free write

Dhanurdhara Swami is coming to lunch today. Friendly hugs, friendly talks. You write what comes to your mind. Free writing becomes a chance for something new. I’m reading the old EJWs, where there is much writing from what’s happening in a quiet life. No hesitation in having something to say. Being in the yellow submarine seems harder. I turn on the television, then turn it off. I read a few pages in EJW Vol. 56, Does It Give You Peace of Mind? Why did I give it that title? A big legal case on abuse in gurukula was just getting started. Who knew how long it would drag out and what changes it would mean and how much money it would cost ISKCON? Worries reach even me in Wicklow. The legal world reaches its long arm into the cult. Summer life goes on quietly.

Tell your truth. Your little secrets. “If you could see me now.” The world of sports. The great athletic heroes. The ordinary people struggling to get by. The Hare Krishna people, trying to have an influence. I received a letter from a lady devotee who reads what I write about japa. She writes about japa too and wants me to read it. Nama Prabhu generates interest among devotees. They want to chant better, share their experiences. This is boiling the milk, preaching to those who are already practicing. It’s needed.

A headache has begun, but I want to keep writing. There’s a pain in the front of my head, and I’ve taken a med. Krishna is alive and well in the spiritual world and in every atom of the material world. Baladeva Vidyabhusana dasa is in Vrndavana and loving every moment of it. I asked him yesterday, “What shall I pray for?” He said, “Pray for me.” I said, “I already prayed for you.” He asked that I pray he could go beyond following his schedule in Vrndavana, which was scratching the surface. He wants to go deep. Greedy fellow. He’ll get what he wants. I wrote yesterday that I wanted to experience Vrndavana while staying in the yellow submarine. Is it possible? You’d get headaches wherever you go. A correspondent recommends I take a vitamin supplement, eight pills a day. It sounds like too much. I’ll handle them with fewer, yet I don’t get complete reflief. You should say your gayatri now. The phone is ringing.

4:00 P.M.

My Dear Lord Krishna...

I’m writing to You with a clear head. I thank You for giving me this day my daily bread. By that I mean literally the fine breakfast and lunch prepared by Narayana-kavaca and the clear, cognitive consciousness to face the world. Dhanurdhara Swami approved of my style of life, living quietly in one place and writing my journal, which is posted on the website. I’m pleased that he approved. It hints that maybe You approve, too, if Your devotee approves.

I’m praying to You another thanksgiving. I thank You for the just-published Under Dark Stars. It’s wild but good, I think. I hope You like it. I thank You for my evening snack and for Dattatreya reading to me while I honor the prasadam. I thank You for the medication that quells my headaches.

I thank You for the training I’ve received, mainly from Prabhupada’s books and lectures, training in Krishna consciousness. This knowledge of bhakti is the most important thing in the world, but it is rare that people come in contact with it and accept it. You have brought me in contact with my spiritual master and given me the faith to accept him as my guru and accept his orders as my vocation. I’m very grateful for this. I’m thankful that I’ve imbibed the basic instructions of the bhakti-sastras, coming as guru, sadhu and sastra.

I thank You for being who You are, Govinda, the cowherd boy, the lover of the gopis, especially Srimati Radharani. You are lovable and beautiful in Your all-attractive spiritual form. You are also the most powerful person and can subdue any army of enemies. You possess the six qualifications of Bhagavan—fame, beauty, wisdom, strength, riches, and renunciation—and You possess them to an unlimited degree. I am proud to have such a supreme, all-attractive person as my Lord.

I thank You for accepting the services I have rendered in ISKCON and for forgiving me for my wrongs. You have been very kind to me in protecting my relationship with Srila Prabhupada.

I thank You for generating, maintaining and destroying the universes according to Your divine plan. You are the supreme controller, and everything that happens is willed by You as providence. I am thankful that all things are working under Your control and that not a blade of grass moves but that You make it happen. I feel secure that You are at the helm.

I am thankful for the little and big things You do in this world. I do not understand Your workings, but I have faith in them. Your works are not to be understood but accepted; You are the supreme great, the supreme mystic, and my position is to worship You and serve You.

Please accept my gratitude and make it strong and sincere. I never want to second guess You or doubt Your behavior. Please let me be a steady servant of Your servant and always be grateful to You for what You do for all of us, Your parts and parcels, and especially Your devotees.

from #104→

Updated Travel Schedule

June 18-22 Boston

July 1-6 Youth Bustour (youth sankirtan marathon anyone interested in these areas in participating contact me)

1-2 Philly

3-4 DC

5th NJ

6th Boston

17-21st Toronto Ratha Yatra/ Yoga Meltdown

22-27 Pandava Sena Youth retreat Prabhupada Village, NC

29 July to 4 August: South America, Costa Rica-Peru-Uruguay-Paraguay

4 August to 13 August: Santiago, Chile

13 August to 21 Oct South Africa

22 Oct. Chile Ratha Yatra

1972 June 16: "All my senior disciples and leaders now you must become very, very much aware of your grave responsibility to the human society and utilize every moment in the best manner possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 16: "As GBC man you shall be my personal secretary for maintaining the highest level of Krishna Consciousness amongst the devotees in your zone."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1968 June 16: "What is the difficulty of enforcing these rules? They are rules, and they are simple rules, and must be followed. One must be prepared to follow the rules for Krishna. Otherwise where is the proof that he loves Krishna?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1969 June 16: "Visala Das will be your name eternally. Eternally you are the servant. It is not very important. It is sufficient for you to know that you are always the servant of Visala, or Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 June 16: "Whatever is offered goes through the Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master offers it to Krishna then Radha Krishna eats, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu eats, then the Spiritual Master eats, and it becomes Mahaprasadam."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 June 16: "One who goes against the rules and regulations of scriptures is causing pain to the supersoul. Parching the body means parching the supersoul. Remembrance of Krishna's lila should come automatically, not that you are remembering artificially."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 June 16: "I am very much concerned that the devotees should be given all good instruction. That is the duty of the GBC man. If the devotees, especially the responsible officers, do not have any knowledge, how can they preach?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 June 16: "Regarding these sannyasis, I have never approved of this action. You can tell them. Everyone is concocting something of their own. It must be checked."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1969 June 16: "Visala Das will be your name eternally. Eternally you are the servant. It is not very important. It is sufficient for you to know that you are always the servant of Visala, or Krishna."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 June 16: "Whatever is offered goes through the Spiritual Master. The Spiritual Master offers it to Krishna then Radha Krishna eats, then Caitanya Mahaprabhu eats, then the Spiritual Master eats, and it becomes Mahaprasadam."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1971 June 16: "One who goes against the rules and regulations of scriptures is causing pain to the supersoul. Parching the body means parching the supersoul. Remembrance of Krishna's lila should come automatically, not that you are remembering artificially."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 June 16: "All my senior disciples and leaders now you must become very, very much aware of your grave responsibility to the human society and utilize every moment in the best manner possible."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 16: "As GBC man you shall be my personal secretary for maintaining the highest level of Krishna Consciousness amongst the devotees in your zone."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 16: "I am very much concerned that the devotees should be given all good instruction. That is the duty of the GBC man. If the devotees, especially the responsible officers, do not have any knowledge, how can they preach?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 June 16: "Regarding these sannyasis, I have never approved of this action. You can tell them. Everyone is concocting something of their own. It must be checked."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1968 June 16: "What is the difficulty of enforcing these rules? They are rules, and they are simple rules, and must be followed. One must be prepared to follow the rules for Krishna. Otherwise where is the proof that he loves Krishna?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

This last weekend we went to the Coachella music festival. Bhrigupati Prabhu headed the party that included myself, Nama Kirtana Prabhu, Bhakta Bronson, Dvarakesh Prabhu, Paratpara Prabhu, Jaya Govinda Prabhu, Paramesvara Prabhu, Murti Prabhu, and Bhakta Avatara Prabhu, with Jaya Gauranga Prabhu and Radha Kripa Kataksa Prabhu as the cooks. We arrived on Thursday afternoon at Yudhisthira Prabhu's house. Yudhisthira has been letting us use his house for the past four or five years for this event and he and his family stay in a hotel for the weekend.
Paramaevara and Murti decided to give the campers a try Thursday evening while the rest of us waited until Friday to start. Paramesvara and Murti had good success with the people parking in the camping lot and they worked from around 6pm until midnight.
On Friday the whole crew (except the cooks) went out for distribution. We arrived at the lot at 9:15 in the morning and it was very slow. Bronson decided to read a little and I took a little extra rest. By 10:30 it was still really slow in that lot, but I figured I might as well give it a try. After talking to people for around ten minutes, and a few books going out, I knew that they were parking another lot. I asked the parkers to confirm and then headed to lot three with Bronson. Paramasvara and Murti went to the campground to work the tents and the rest of the boys went to lot six. Lot three is a large lot that we worked for the rest of the day. By the mercy of my gurudeva I had a nice time there. I was able to distribute sixty six books from 11:30am to 7:00pm, with an hour break for lunch and a quick nap. At seven the sun went behind the mountains, so we kept to the Vedic standard and called it a day. We went back for dinner at the house. Bronson and I decided to go back out for the blowout and Dvarakesh, Paratpara, Jaya Govinda, and Nama Kirtana joined us. We got there around 10pm, just in time to catch the fist few people leaving the show. Bronson and I stayed until 12:30 in the morning, but the others called it quits around 11pm. Friday was the nicest day for me, with a total of 100 big books distributed.
On saturday I woke up at 8am because I did not get to sleep until 2:30am. I was not tired, but felt a little sluggish mentally all day. This was also the hottest day, being well over 100 degrees. Everyone had a tough time on this day. The next day, Sunday, was nice. It was a bit cooler than the day before and I was able to chant nicer japa. On Saturday I decided that if I did well during the day on Sunday, then I would stay for the blowout. I did well on Sunday, so Bronson, Bhakta Avatara, and I stayed until around 1am. Murti decided he would stay later at the last minute also. The blowout was nice this evening as well. During the blowout on Friday I found the best thing that worked was to hold out a big book in each hand and chant the Hare Krishna maha mantra out loud. In that way people would come and take books (34 big books that night). But, the Sunday blowout was a little more trying. I tried all the different approaches I knew, but nothing was that successful. After about two hours and only eight books distributed, I remembered Lord Nrsimhadeva. Yudhisthira has beautiful Sri Sri Laksmi Nrsimha Deities, so I was meditating on them as the proprietor of this area. I held out the books again, but started chanting Lord Nrsimhadeva's prayers. Even before I could finish saying "Namaste Narasim..." then someone came up to me: "What do you have here, what kind of books are these?" Within the next half of an hour twenty six more books were distributed! It was ecstatic. We never know how Krishna will do things, but his reciprocation is always wonderful, unexpected, and very much appreciated.
After the blowout I drove the four of us an hour away to Bhakta Avatara's house. Since it was already 5am, I stayed up to chant my rounds and then took rest at 6:30am. We woke up at noon and then showered and had breakfast (or would that be lunch?) By the time Bronson was done with his rounds it was 3:30pm. We headed out to UC Riverside for a couple of hours more of distribution. We finished at 6pm and then returned to New Dvaraka. By the mercy of my spiritual master, I was allowed to distribute 2 maha-big, 218 big, and 219 medium books.

Are women just sexual? Why raise or take time to ponder the subject? Over the past few weeks whilst reading the news in Australia I noticed something; I’ve noticed it before but for some reason this time it’s made more of an impact. One of the articles focused on an interview with Rachel Ward who stated that she [...]

Being part of the MSF is not simply restricted to coming out on book distribution. There are various avenues where you can help contribute to make this event a success! Whether it be helping to prepare prasadam (sanctified vegetarian food), spreading the word about the event, helping out with logistics, being part of the harinama team (who will sing the Lord's names) or just being a friendly face who wants to watch everyone else, we encourage everyone to please come out!

Please sign up on the form below and don't hesitate to contact us with any comments or questions at toronto.sankirtan@gmail.com.

Here is an exchange that took place in Mauritius on the 4th of October, 1975:

Indian man: I want to know one thing, Prabhupada. You have just said that in the moon there is a cold atmosphere and there is still a living entity there? You see? But what the Americans have said... Of course, they have sent man there, different rockets there, satellites...
Prabhupada: So I understand. Your authority is America, and my authority is sastra. That is the difference.
Indian man: But they...

read more

In our book"Divine Nature," Drutakarma and I have argued that the theories begun with British economist Thomas Robert Malthus (1766 1834) that "overpopulation" was a big problem have been proven false. Statistics show many post-Malthusian predictions have been wrong. These predictions would show that we'd be falling off the planet by now due to overcrowding. One thing such dire predictions didn't reckon was the demoniac principle of 'birth control.' In fact population experts now tell us that by the year 2020, earth's population will slip into a precipitous decline.

read more

On 27, 1972 Srila Prabhupada was lecturing in America. He did not want computerization to stop but he wanted to show that they don't actually solve the problem of societal unrest, although we know they can be used to good advantage. Here is what he said: "Just like I gave you one example: the computer machine. It can work for thousands of men. So thousands of men means the thousands of men must be unemployed. And especially in your country, they are taking advantage of this machine because the salary is.. If you want to pay to the worker, a big, big salary. So they want to save.

read more

We have often heard that Srila Prabhupada said that even if one percent of the world's people becomes Krsna conscious, the present world situation would change for the better. Here is one such quote from a lecture delivered in London on 8th of September 1971: "Therefore this Krishna consciousness movement... Even a certain little percentage of people become Krishna conscious, the whole face of the world will change. It is so nice." (SB7.5.22.30)

A few days ago I unexpectedly bumped into a university friend whom I hadn’t spoken to for nearly ten years. He is getting married in two weeks and has achieved many things in his career since leaving university. In certain ways our respective paths in life turned out quite different, but in other ways I discovered that we share many of the same spiritual principles. It would definitely be interesting to have a university reunion after twenty years and see where everyone ended up. Life has its interesting twists and turns.

The ancient scriptures explain that this world is like a river of names where some strands of straw join for some time, but downstream they all separate and go their own ways. You could say the world is just like an airport transit lounge. We all come from different backgrounds, catching planes to different destinations, and in the meantime we establish relationships amongst each other. Who can deny temporal relationships of this world? Even if two people stay committed to each other for life, the inevitable reality of death will separate them. So does that mean all relationships are meaningless and simply a waste of time?

While we relate to others on a bodily level, the relationships will only endure the length of this body. We may talk of having a connection with someone after they leave, but the strength of that connection is based on how much we have related to them as a spirit soul, part of the Supreme Spirit. So in this river of names, where we take on certain roles, responsibilities, positions and personas, the real challenge is to get beyond all the superficiality and temporary designations and get to the essence of the person. We are not human beings on a spiritual journey – rather we are spiritual beings on a human journey. This human journey affords an amazing opportunity to establish spiritual relationships which last for eternity.

Namahatta meeting at my place with Sadbhuja Prabhu from Leipzig, Dvarakadisa Prabhu and Gauranga Prabhu! A very esoteric and interesting class and lots of wonderful Prasadam...My first Harinama in Hannover with Mahadyuti Prabhu... It is always so purifying that I become really melancholic when it is over.strawberry cake for ever ki - jaya! ;)Having fun on the Masala street festival, playing

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

Dallas Morning News,

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:In his new book, "God's Continent, Christianity, Islam and Europe's Religious Crisis," Philip Jenkins argues that Europe is really not being Islamized, that Christians from Africa and Asia also are pouring into Europe. And both Muslims and Third World Christians are running full-square into Europe's secular culture, says Jenkins, who also has written the acclaimed Next Christendom and New Faces of Christianity books.

What's interesting, the Penn State professor reports, is that the great faiths aren't fading away. Instead, Islam and Christianity are adapting to the culture around them.

This leads me to this week's question, which we have discussed in various ways over the last few weeks:

How does a faith adapt without losing its essential meaning?

See what our panelists have to say about this topic, which mirrors the larger discussion about how Sonia Sotomayor or any Supreme Court justice interprets the Constitution. Like the Constitution, faith has to apply to the times in which it lives. But, also like the Constitution, a religion loses its meaning when it becomes too malleable.

and here was the response:

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

Every religion must adapt according to time, place, circumstance and individual. The principle of religion -- to develop love for God -- must always remain the same. Strategies, or details, may change but the principle must remain the same.

For example: Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura (1874 -1937) was one of the first sannyasis (a renounced monk) in India to use an automobile. One of the primary principles of religion is simplicity and therefore the sannyasis used to travel only by foot.

As an educator in the principle of developing Love of God, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura saw that the automobile was a useful instrument to serve that ultimate purpose. He could visit people over long distances and thus expand his efforts. Thus, despite criticisms, he adopted the use of the automobile.

Adaptations can be properly applied when one considers or consults the authority of Guru, Sastra, and Sanga. Guru is the exemplary teacher, Sastra are the revealed scriptures, and Sanga refers to the association of saintly practitioners. Adaptations should be validated by this three-point check system. If the scriptures, the exemplary teacher, and the saintly practitioners all support the adaptation, then it can be accepted as a good course of action.

Hare Krishna :)
Your humble servant,
Nityananda Chandra Das
To see all the responses from the Texas Faith Panel click here

Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 8, Chapter 6, Texts 24-25 by Guruprasad Swami.

Dallas, TX
2009-04-20

24 - TRANSLATION

My dear demigods, with patience and peace everything can be done, but if one is agitated by anger, the goal is not achieved. Therefore, whatever the demons ask, agree to their proposal.

25 - TRANSLATION

A poison known as kalakuta will be generated from the ocean of milk, but you should not fear it. And when various products are churned from the ocean, you should not be greedy for them or anxious to obtain them, nor should you be angry.

PURPORT

It appears that by the churning process many things would be generated from the ocean of milk, including poison, valuable gems, nectar and many beautiful women. The demigods were advised, however, not to be greedy for the gems or beautiful women, but to wait patiently for the nectar. The real purpose was to get the nectar.

Download: 2009-04-20 - Guruprasad Swami - SB 8.6.24-25.mp3

[A recent news article (May 21, 2009) also reinforced my conviction in my analysis. I've reproduced a portion of it below, embedded in excerpts from last year's post "There's Always One" (May 23, 2008)]

My call to nuke the Chinese is an ironic device. Unfortunately, it is actually the most sane thing to do given our current situation, which is an indication of how insane our current situation is. With the consumption of the Chinese rising to meet Australian standards the global economic and environmental situation is untenable. The only result of this can be the inevitable clash of the Americans and the Australians with the Chinese, and the Indians, and the Russians, and the Africans, and every other group who wants to live like we do.

Unless the Australians and Americans reduce their consumption and model a more responsible sustainable lifestyle, war with the Chinese, eventually an overt military one, caused by an economic one over the dwindling resources, is the near future of the human race.

- There's Always One, atmayogi.com, May 23, 2008

THE US has declared it "is not ceding the Pacific to anyone" in a forceful response to the rise of China and the Rudd Government's defence white paper, which last month flagged the possibility of US dominance fading in the Asia-Pacific region in the decades ahead.

Asked by The Australian in a briefing with foreign journalists about Washington's response to Canberra's defence blueprint, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was emphatic that Washington was looking to deepen its ties in the region and wanted to do more with allies such as Australia.

She made it clear the US, which has a huge naval presence in the Asia-Pacific based in Hawaii, was not going anywhere.

"We want Australia as well as other nations to know the United States is not ceding the Pacific to anyone," Ms Clinton said.

She stressed that Washington was also "sending a clear message that the United States will be engaged - we are a trans-Pacific power and a trans-Atlantic power."

- Hillary Clinton firmly commits the US to Asia-Pacific security, The Australian, May 21, 2009

Being lukewarm is a cop out. Why stop at killing millions of animals? If you are going to be a killer, then you should be logical about it and kill the Chinese before they kill you. Otherwise, if you do find that idea abhorrent, then take a look at the logical consequences of where this meat-eating is taking us. The Mahabharata tells us: "There is not enough gold, grains, or women in the world to satisfy the desire of one man" - what to speak of one billion Chinese, plus 400 million Americans, plus 20 million Australians plus the rest of the world.

Our irresponsibility in failing to set an example of responsible, sustainable consumption is leading the world to war over dwindling resources, and ecological and environmental disaster. Face up to it. If we don't become vegetarian now, we should drop a nuke on China. It's the only way to make our current diet and lifestyle sustainable.

So stop being so irresponsible: either push the red button, or give up the red meat.

- There's Always One, atmayogi.com, May 23, 2008

[This is a repost of a post from May 22, 2008. I just can't shake this. I am more convinced than I was then that this is the simple arithmetic of the situation, and that we are living in a post-WW II fantasy world of post-industrial consumer equality for all. We can't "have our iPods" and "let the Chinese have theirs" (that's a figure of speech - I would point to meat consumption as a more immediate threat). There isn't enough.
Please also see my follow-up to this post from last year "There's Always One" for further elaboration.]

With food prices rising, the dollar falling, and the economy reeling, it is becoming increasing important that we learn how to grow a portion of our own food. The first steps are obtaining and sprouting seeds, so we'll explore those topics here.

Winning the War on Food: Sprouting Seeds and Saving Seeds is a great article today from Natural News.com.

The glories of sprouted pumpkin seeds were extolled on Krpamoya Prabhu's blog a short while ago.

At Atma Yoga we've been sprouting seeds and using them in the salads.

This morning on the way to work Param and I were talking about the rising cost of food. Luckily we only eat a few grains and vegetables. It must be really hard for people who eat a lot of processed foods and especially meat.

Spiraling Food Prices Result in Deadly Violence Around the World, another story today on NaturalNews.com, was the topic at the dinner table the other night at Atma. We ended up discussing the relative merits of the HK416 assault rifle (can be fired after being submerged in water or sand - not sure about both) versus the Barrett M468 (fires the 6.8mm round - more accurate than the AK-47, more powerful than the M16; which is exactly what you need to stop a zombie or a feral human), and how the Australian Government should stockpile a million of them to arm the Australia populace to repel 300 million feral Indonesians after their country gets submerged by rising sea levels.

Either that, or it should be encouraging people to reduce their consumption, not allowing the unrestrained inflammation of their material desires.

World-wide, meat consumption is increasing at the rate of 4.7 million tons per year [source].

In China, annual meat consumption has jumped from 16 kilograms per person in 1983, to 53 kilograms per person today [source].

Check out this data table that I generated over at Earth Trends:

World meat consumption is going up, and the Chinese are contributing a huge amount to that.

These people want to live like you.

The conclusion is staggeringly obvious: we need to nuke the Chinese now.

The longer we wait, the stronger they grow. The more meat they eat, the more aggressive and strong they become. The more time they have, the more they build their industrial capacity and their war machine.

It is us or them - the world is not big enough for both. In fact, the world is not big enough just for them, if they live like us.

There are only two things that a responsible leadership can do: waste them, or reduce our consumption.

If you think that nuking the Chinese is a ridiculous proposition, then think of the alternative. Continuing the way we are now the world will very, very quickly run out of resources. It's not just the current rate of consumption: the Chinese are increasing their meat consumption at 12% per annum. There are a billion of them.

Every pound of beef requires 16 pounds of grain. It requires land to be cleared to graze cattle. It produces methane. It uses and contaminates water in processing.

If you think that the idea of reducing your consumption is ridiculous then you have to consider the alternatives:

• Option 1: nuke the Chinese now.
• Option 2: get a whole lot of assault rifles and lots of ammunition for when it all goes down.
• Option 3: reduce consumption and model a more globally responsible, sustainable lifestyle.

Which one do you feel like choosing? Oh, by the way, if you don't want to choose we will arrange one of Option 1 or Option 2 for you, automatically.

The most revolutionary thing that you can do to combat global warming, resource depletion and the eventual war between the Chinese and America / Australia is to become a vegetarian.

It's probably the best thing you can do for your health and your emotional wellbeing as well.

It's certainly the best thing you can do for the health and well being of 270 million tons of animals per year, and climbing.

By Yugala Kishor Das

In response to "A Request for help in starting a new website for Struggling Devotees." Self-control in matters of sex starts with brahmacarya, passes through grhastha and eventually goes back to absolute celibacy in sannyasa.

It was the shirt!

See here for a video of the new colour scheme at Govindas. I'm rolling down there for lunch on Thursday, so I'll shoot some pictures for you then.

This is a recording of the class given on 15 June 2009 at Bhaktivadanta Manor by HG Jay Krishna Das HG Jay Krishna Das It reminds is about perspective on wealth, it’s use and misuse; reminding us of the true meaning of wealth. apologies for the delay on making it available

Sri Sri Sri Rukmini Dwarkadish The Most Beautiful and Wonderful Deities in the World. Visit and have dharshan oF Their Lordships at New Dwarka Temple located at 3764 Watseka Ave, Los Angeles CA 90034.

Regarding your standing in the book distribution as number three in the world, I am very pleased that you have worked so hard to help me in carrying out the order of my Guru Maharaja. Be convinced that you are doing the highest service for your fellow countrymen by distributing books of Krsna Consciousness. Actually in the west there is now no culture, and no brain even for what is the purpose of life. American civilization is finished, except that it can be saved if it takes to Krsna Consciousness. Try to become more convinced of this necessity for Krsna Consciousness and that will enable you to preach even stronger and distribute more books.

Letter to: Caru — Mayapur February 28, 1977

The recording for this week's Sunday Feast can be viewed by clicking the image below.

As a reminder, the recordings from our weekly live web broadcasts are stored on our ISKCON Toronto Video Archive Blog.

Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple would like to extend a warm invitation to devotees around the world to experience our 37th Annual Festival of India (Ratha-Yatra) on July 18-19, 2009!

Here in Canberra, Australia we have been repeatedly diving deeply into the nectarean ocean of Hare Krishna kirtan. What an experience, to intensely absorb our minds in the sweet transcendental vibration of Krishna's names! Those who are struggling to enjoy here in this material world have been badly misinformed by their mentors that happiness comes...

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.9.28 - The secret of success in spiritual life is to please the spiritual master.

My goodness! It's been a whole week without a blog. Looking after myself, my father and my son is certainly almost more that I can keep up with. I do still get to teach regularly. It's really like breathing for me - it just has to be done.

Last Friday I boarded a train and enjoyed a gentle and meditative seven-hour journey north from Sydney to the town of Wauchope.

It was a rare chance to go deep and wander around in my inner world, as the outer world rushed by.

My noise-canceling headphones + my iPod = spiritual rejuvenation. A rare delight!

The Company Farm, run by Lyn Withers, was the venue. My fourth visit was, as usual, enlivening and enlightening, both for me and my students. Saturday's class was conducted in the afternoon, concluding in dinner.

Sunday morning was crisp and bright, and I commenced my 'mis-en-place' as the sun rose.

The Clarence river gurgled nearby, the winter sun sparkled on damp grass, and all was well with the world.

Cutting boards were set up, I finished my morning herbal infusion, apron ready to don. Guests arriving soon...

Little bowls and cups were filled with all the magical ingredients for our kitchen alchemy.

After the intoductory talk, we posed for another pre-class archival photo.

That's Lyn, far left. We chose a great menu, and enjoyed the company of some interesting attendees, all of whom were eager to learn, cook and eat. Cookery is my life's engagement, and my meditation.

1969 June 15: "With this taste we become more and more attracted, and more and more Krishna gives encouragement, and more and more we increase in our desire to serve Krishna in pure Krishna Consciousness."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1969 June 15: "I am so much encouraged that one very nice boy has come to live in your temple. You are all working sincerely to serve Krishna, and now one sincere soul has been so attracted by this, that he is also coming to join you."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

1970 June 15 : "Since you met with the motor accident, although I am getting your news time to time, still I was very much anxious to write you directly. Do not be worried, Krsna has saved you, and very soon you will regain strength."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1971 June 15 : "Whatever GBC members decide, I have nothing to disagree with. But economically the existing proposal is not very sound. If the printing takes two years, then what becomes the total cost of Bhagavad-gita As It Is?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1971

1972 June 15 : "Are you again acting upon your old principles in the guise of a Sannyasi from our disciplic succession? This cannot be allowed. If you are sincere to our line of action, please come here and live with me for some time."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 15 : "I act like a king because no one can defeat me, and similarly, you should take your responsibility very, very seriously as the representative of Caitanya Mahaprabhu."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 15 : "I have worked alone, now you are so many. Our scope is unlimited, our resources unlimited. Now we have got 100 branches, so when I finish Srimad Bhagavatam there must be at least 1000 branches."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 15 : "Don't be too much concerned with nondevotees, now we must fix-up what devotees we have got - then we will succeed. What good are many, many devotees if none of them are knowledgeable?"
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 June 15: "Remain always compact in Vaikuntha yajna. Don't do anything artificially - that is sahajiya. You remain the beautiful maid servant of Krishna. Don't try to be ugly before Krishna. Krishna does not like ugly gopis."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1970 June 14 : "Spiritual life is just like handling a sharpened razor. Handle it nicely we become clean shaven, but a little inattention causes bloodstain. So always remember this and depend on Krsna and make your life progressive."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

overcast day at the beach. We saw a pod of porpoises swimming from left to right, their fins gracefully surfacing and diving. Some of them were so close they were inside the line of buoys. We saw many passersby out walking, including the friendly postal worker, who usually greets us from his car. Today he [...]

Here's the final, stand-up kirtan of the Sunday Feast, ably lead by Maha-mantra das.

It's a simple four mic affair: a Shure WH-30 condenser headset mic for the lead vocal, a Behringer C2 condenser for the room, and a couple of Shure SM58s - one for the backing vocal (Param Satya and Prahlad), and one for Sridhar's saxophone.

If I'd had time to set up (this is just straight after the "stage" kirtan), I would have set up two additional mics - another C2 for a stereo image, and an omnidirectional condenser for more of the room, which would have helped to put more drums in it - I could have taken all the top end off that one and boosted it up to put more bass in the mix.

I've mastered this one really hot, and left the cartals in their full glory (I usually put a low pass filter on the room mics to bring them down). The vocal is so high that it's still the most prominent element, and that's the most important thing - the chanting.

• Maha-mantra Sunday Feast Kirtan (mp3, 30MB, 21:48)

Enjoy!
- Sitapati "That's me playing the chimptas" das

Pottery is the baked-clay wares of the entire ceramics field.

Pottery is one of the most enduring materials known to humankind. In most places it is the oldest and most widespread art; primitive peoples the world over have fashioned pots and bowls of baked clay for their daily use.

Pottery comprises three major types of wares: earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Pottery clay is the clay used to make the three categories of pottery. Clay is baked in a kiln under intense heat, a process known as firing, and becomes solid. Firing is used both to harden the clay and to adhere glaze to it or color it.

The first type of pottery, earthenware, has been manufactured using the same basic techniques since ancient times. Earthenware is basically composed of clay or a blend of clays that are baked firm. Because it is fired at low heat, the pottery clay retains its porous nature and does not become translucent. Earthen wares are porous and therefore not as strong as stone wares. Earthenware can be glazed, but it will never be as hard as stoneware-glazed surface. An earthenware-glazed dish will scratch or chip more easily than the harder surface of stoneware. Faience, delft, and majolica are all types of earthenware clays.

The second type of pottery, called Stoneware is generally a mixture of other clays. It is relatively rich in vitreous material and has a high degree of plasticity, so it is very easy to manipulate. Stoneware is fired at so high a temperature (about 2185 degrees Fahrenheit) that it becomes as hard as stone and non-porous. In essence, it is man-made stone. Stoneware is extremely strong and will not absorb water. Because stoneware is nonporous, it does not require a glaze; when a glaze is used, it serves a purely decorative function. Stoneware dishes can be used in conventional and microwave ovens.

Porcelain, also called china, was invented by the Chinese and consists of feldspathic material incorporated in a stoneware composition. This pottery is actually made with a mixture of several other types of clay and minerals. It is generally composed of kaolin, ball clay, feldspar and flint. Porcelain is a very hard white ceramic which has been manufactured in China since the 600s, and in Europe since the 1700s. Porcelain is fired using very high heat, resulting in a white, nonporous pottery. Porcelain is translucent; stoneware and earthenware is not.

Hemangi, a nagy gasztro bloggerünk egy izgalmas programot indított.

A vegetáriánus kihívás napját. Erről az alábbiakban olvashatsz. És ha van kedved, vegyél részt benne.

A Nagy Vegetáriánus Kihívás

A belgiumi Gent városának vezetése az egészséges életmód és a környezetbarát politika jegyében arra biztatja a lakosságot, hogy hetente egy napon ne fogyasszanak húst. Ezzel javítják az egészségüket és csökkentik a károsanyag-kibocsátást. A kampányt a köztisztviselők kezdik, ám ősztől az iskolások is húsmentes ebédet kapnak hetente egyszer.

Nagyon megtetszett ez a kezdeményezés, ezért a Vegavarázs nevű internetes gasztroblog (http://vegavarazs.hu) írójaként felhívást teszek közzé: meghirdetem a Nagy Vegetáriánus Kihívás napját! Legyél egy napra vegetáriánus!
Aki csatlakozni szeretne, június 27-én, szombaton kizárólag vegetáriánus ételeket főzhet és fogyaszthat családjával. A célom, hogy bebizonyítsuk, hogy egy napot bárki eltölthet hús nélkül, úgy, hogy egészséges, finom és étvágygerjesztő ételeket eszik. Rendszeres olvasója vagyok a gasztroblogoknak, látom, hogy a nem vegetáriánus szakácsok is csodálatos húsmentes ételeket varázsolnak. Mutassuk meg a világnak! Csatlakozzatok és regisztráljatok a bejegyzés alján! A nagy nap után a résztvevők között kisorsolok (rögtönzött közjegyző előtt) egy családi belépőt Krisna-völgybe, egy vegetáriánus szakácskönyvet, illetve egy ebédrendelést (amit a nyertes választ) a Vegafutárnál.
Feltételek: A résztvevők természetesen nem főzhetnek húst (halat sem), és hogy kissé nehezítsük a dolgot, nem használhatnak tojást, gombát, hagymát és alkoholt. A jelentkezőket kérem, hogy június 30. déli 12 óráig küldjék el írásban, hogy mit ettek szombaton, és ha tehetik, küldjenek fotót a családról, az ebédről. Szívesen fogadom a recepteket is, és megjelentetem a blogon. A legjobb – fotóval ellátott receptek – megjelenhetnek a negyedévente megjelenő, Vissza Istenhez című magazinunkban (10 ezer példányban).
Kérlek benneteket, küldjétek el ismerőseiteknek a felhívást és csatlakozzatok a június 27-i Nagy Vegetáriánus Kihíváshoz!

Hémangi

Regisztrálj itt!

June 20th 2009

The event we’ve all been waiting for. The third annual 24 Hour Kirtan in New Vrindaban. This year promises to be even bigger and better than before.

What is the 24 Hour Kirtan Festival?

The New Vrindaban 24 Hour Kirtan Festival started in 2007. The idea is to chant the Hare Krishna Mahamantra continuously for 24 hours, as is done in Vrindavan India 365 days a year. Featuring some of the world’s most respected Bhakti chanters, the festival is open to all.

Kirtans start at 8 AM Saturday the 20th and end 8 AM Sunday the 21st.

Who’s Singing?

Click here for the Who’s Who and info on registering plus recordings of previous years’ kirtans.

"This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful.

Barack Obama, and the criminal class on Wall Street, aided by a corporate media that continues to peddle fatuous gossip and trash talk as news while we endure the greatest economic crisis in our history, may have fooled us, but the rest of the world knows we are bankrupt. And these nations are damned if they are going to continue to prop up an inflated dollar and sustain the massive federal budget deficits, swollen to over $2 trillion, which fund America’s imperial expansion in Eurasia and our system of casino capitalism. They have us by the throat. They are about to squeeze."

(Read the rest of the article here.)

I've become a big fan of Chris Hedges, here are some quotes from his book "When Atheism become Religion: Americas New Fundamentalists." Here are few passages that I highlighted in my reading of the book a couple of months ago. Rereading the book recently has reminded me how spot on he was on so many of the issues.

"The secular utopians, like Christian Fundamentalists, are stunted products of a self-satisfied, materialistic middle class. They seek in their philosophical systems a moral justification for their own comfort, self-absorption, and power. They do not question the imperial projects of the nation, globalization or the vast disparities in wealth and security between themselves, as members of the world's industrialized elite, and the rest of the human race."

"An atheist who accepts an irredeemable and flawed human nature, as well as a morally neutral universe, who does not think the world can be perfected by human beings, who is not steeped in cultural arrogance and feelings of superiority, who rejects the violent imperial projects under way in the middle east, is intellectually honest. . .They hold an honored place in the pluralistic and diverse human community. . . Atheists, including those who brought us the Enlightenment, have often been a beneficial force in the history of human though and religion. They have forced societies to examine empty religious platitudes and hollow religious concepts. They have courageously challenged the moral hypocrisy of religious institutions. The humanistic values of the enlightenment were a response to the abuses by organized religion, including the attempt by religious authorities to stifle intellectual and scientific freedom. Religious authorities bought off by the elite, championed a dogmatism that sanctified the privileges and power of the ruling class. But there were always religious figures who defied their own. Many, such as Baruch Spinoza, were branded as heretics and atheists."

"The pain of living has also turned honest and compassionate men an women against God. These atheists do not believe in the collective moral progress or science and reason as our ticket to salvation. They are not trying to perfect the human race. Rather, they cannot reconcile human suffering with the concept of God. This is an honest struggle. This disbelief is a form of despair, not self-exultation."

"Because there is no clear, objective definition of God, the new atheists must choose what God it is they attack. Is it the god of the mystics, the followers of the Social Gospel, the eighteenth-century deists, the Quakers, the liberation theologians, or the stern God of the patriarchs? Are they at war with Thomas Aquinas or John Calvin or Mohandas Gandhi or Thomas Merton or Paul Tillich? These are not questions these atheists answer. They attack a religious belief of their own creation. They blame religion for the worst of human depravity, superstition and ignorance, and call on us to discard it. . . And once we free ourselves from religion we will be able to march forward as a species to their sunlit utopia. This is a simplistic utopian vision of human advancement share by all fundamentalists. . ."

"The blustering televangelists, and the atheists who rant about the evils of religion, are little more than carnival barkers. They are in show business, and those in show business know complexity does not sell, they trade cliches and insults like cartoon characters. They don masks. One wears the mask of religion, the other wears the mask of science. they banter back and forth in predictable sound bites. They promise, like all advertisers, simple and seductive dreams, this debate engages two bizarre subsets who are well suited to the television culture because of the crudeness of their arguments. One distorts the scientific theory of evolution to explain the behavior and rules for complex social, economic and political systems. The other insists that the six-day story of creation in Genesis is fact and Jesus will descend from the sky to create the kingdom of God on Earth. These antagonists each claim to have discovered an absolute truth. They trade absurdity for absurdity. They show that the danger is not religion or science. The danger is fundamentalism."

"The new atheists, who attack a repugnant version of religion use it to condemn all religion. They use it to deny the reality and importance of the religious impulse. They are curiously unable to comprehend those who found through their religious convictions the strength to stand up against injustice. Hitchens writes of Martin Luther King Jr. that 'in no real as opposed to nominal sense, then, was he a Christian.' He disparages the faith of Abraham Lincoln an assures us that Dietrich Bonhoeffer, whom the Nazis put to death for resistance, was the product of a religious belief that had 'mutated into an admirable but nebulous humanism.' He declares Gandhi an obscurantist who distorted and retarded Indian independence, and calls the Dalai Lama a medieval princeling who is the continuation of a parasitic monastic elite. All those religious figures who found the courage to live the moral life must be maligned and dismissed as not authentically religious. Their presence speaks of another kind of religion, one these atheists do not comprehend."

"'The core belief in progress is that human values and goals converge in parallel with our increasing knowledge,' the British Philosopher John Gray wrote. 'The twentieth century shows the contrary. Human beings use the power of scientific knowledge to assert and defend the values and goals they already have. New technologies can be used to alleviate suffering and enhance freedom. They can, and will also be used to wage war and strengthen tyranny. Science made possible the technologies that powered the industrial revolution. In the twentieth century, these technologies were used to implement state terror and genocide on an unprecedented scale. Ethics and politics do not advance in line with the growth of knowledge-not even in the long run.'"

"The atheists and the Christian radicals who cling to this warped vi son of our goodness, nobility, and self-appointed role as the saviors of civilization, urge us forward into imperial projects that are as foolish as they are suicidal."

"Dawkins sees no moral worth in religious faith, just as Christian fundamentalists see no moral worth in those who do not accept Jesus as their personal lord and savior. The millions of human beings who over the ages struggled to live lives of compassion and fought for justice under a religious or secular banner are blithely erased from moral consideration. It no longer matter what people do with their lives, but what they believe. Dawkins, like Christian zealots, reduces the world to a binary formula of good and evil."

"It is impossible to formulate a moral code out of reason and science. As the realm of fact rather than value, science is notoriously unable to generate a basis for moral behavior. Neither science nor reason calls on us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to forgive our enemies, or to sacrifice for the weak, the infirm, and the poor."

"Those who place their faith in a purely rational existence begin from the premise that human being can have a fixed and determined selves governed by reason and knowledge. This is itself an act of faith. . . We can rationalize our actions later, but this does not make them rational. . .We are assaulted with about 14 million bit of information per second. The bandwidth of consciousness is around 18 bits per second. We have conscious access to about a millionth of the information we use to function in life. . .To accept the intractable and irrational forces that drive us, to admit that these forces are as entrenched in us as in all human beings, is to relinquish the fantasy that the human species can have total control over human destiny. It is to accept our limitations, to live with the confines of human nature. Ethical, moral religious, and political systems that do not concede these stark limitations have nothing to say to us. The new atheists, like all Utopians, ask us to live unexamined lives, to believe we can conquer our humanness. Knowledge is not wisdom. Knowledge is the domain of scientific inquiry. Wisdom goes beyond self-awareness. It permits us to reinterpret the rational and the non-rational. It is both intellectual and intuitive. And those who remain trapped within the confines of knowledge and pedantry do not commune with the larger world. They cannot see or speak to the deeper truths of life."

"The passages of most sacred texts in all religions are of little real importance. Believers pick and choose what fits. They discard the rest. . .Christian fundamentalists, who seek a justification for their bigotry and hatred, trumpet these passages and rarely speak of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's call for vows of poverty and his pacificism. Such selective interpretation is no different for Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and other believers. It is culture, history, circumstance, tradition, economics and the deep self-interest of the tribe or the nation that more powerfully inform belief systems than the contradictory and often impenetrable pages of the Bible, Koran or any other sacred text. Attempts by these atheists to reduce sacred texts to instructions manuals is not part of the reality of belief. Faith arises out of practice. We find our faith in how we live. The labels we attach to ourselves-Christian, Buddhist, Jew, Muslim or Atheist-are a way to tell stories about ourselves, to create coherent narratives."

"The danger we face does not come from religion. It comes from a growing intellectual bankruptcy that is one of the symptoms of a dying culture. . .We sit for hours alone in front of screens. We are enraptured and diverted by bread and circuses. And while we sit mesmerized, corporations steadily dismantle the democratic state. We are kept ignorant and entertained. . .We increasingly lack the intellectual and self-critical tools to disentangle this net of lies from truth. . .'our politics, religion, news, athletics, education, and commerce have been transformed into congenial adjuncts of show business, largely without protest or even much popular notice,' wrote Neil Postman. 'The result is that we are a people on the verge of entertaining ourselves to death.' . . .The new atheists are products of the morally stunted world of entertainment. Despite their insistence that they have cornered the market on rationality, they appeal neither to our reason nor our intellect. . .The simple slogans these atheists repeat about religion do not communicate ideas. They amuse us. They bolster our self-satisfaction, anti-intellectualism and provincialism."

"Many who live the United States, plagued by its consumer culture, waste their energy attempting to satisfy the insatiable demands of an all-consuming self. People have become cut off, engulfed in the fruitless search to find an unachievable happiness in the things they accumulate, the experiences an products they are sold, or the careers they have built. The promised self-fulfillment, of-course, never arrives. Consumers are prodded with even greater urgency to seek solace in newer products, greater opulence an increased status. the frantic search for happiness is endless, 'since' as Proust wrote, 'what one has obtained in ever anything but a new starting-point for further desires.' . . . American democracy has become a consumer fraud. those who practice these techniques are manipulative an cynical. They have robbed us of art, of democratic rights, of education, of respect for the world around us, of the sacred, and they have left us sputtering to each other in the simplified language of television. Television has given us a new image based epistemology. It now subtly defines what is true. It determines what constitutes knowledge. It tells us what is real and unreal. . .The danger we face is not an Orwellian 1984 style dictatorship, but Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, where we waste our lives in the vain and impossible pursuit of a self-centered, universal happiness. . .Television tempts viewers with the opulent life enjoyed by the American oligarchy, one percent of who control more wealth than the bottom 90 percent combined. Characters on television live in sprawling and artfully decorated lofts and multi-million dollar homes. They flit from high priced luncheons to lavish galas, where they can parade their sculpted bodies in extravagant designer suits and gowns. this is the life we are supposed to admire and emulate. This is the life, we are told, we can all have. Our national obsession with wealth, celebrity and power has become a soul crushing disease. . .in the middle ages people were manipulated and informed by stained glass images and graphic paintings of religious suffering and redemption. We, too, are hostage to images. We are inundated with pictures of excess wealth and consumption. The in the Middle Ages genuflected before the awful authority and majesty of the church. They feared the wrath of God. We genuflect before celebrity, prizes, money and status, held out like bait. Profligate consumption is not only desirable, but also the only life that offers worth an meaning. These images, however, implicity mock the lives of nearly all Americans. They foster impossible aspiration, ones that nearly all of us will never achieve. The mass of citizens who do not become wealthy and powerful, who buy Tom Ford's products but never become him, harbor feelings of failure and worthlessness. The incessant chasing after status and wealth has plunged much of the country into unmanageable debt. Families live in oversized houses with palladium windows, financed with mortgages they cannot repay. They seek identity through their Nike shoes or Coach handbags. They occupy their leisure time in malls buying things they do not need. They spend their weekdays in little cubicles, if they have stable jobs, under the heel of corporations who have disempowered the American worker, taken control of the state, and can lay them off on a whim. It is a desperate scramble. No one wants to be left behind. The epistemology of television has left of ignorant, without the vocabulary to express this awful transformation. . .The contemporary atheists, while many are noted scientists, are deluded products of this image-based and culturally illiterate world. They speak about religion, human progress and meaning in the impoverished language of television slogans. They play to our fears, especially of what we do not understand. Their words are sensational, fragmented and devoid of content. They appeal to our subliminal and irrational desires. They select a few facts and use them to dismiss historical, political an cultural realities. They tell us what we want to believe about ourselves. They assure us that we are good. They proclaim the violence employed in our name a virtue. They champion our ignorance as knowledge. They assure us that there is no reason to investigate other ways of being. Our way of life is the best. They indulge us in our delusional dream of human perfectability. They tell us we will be saved by science and rationality. They tell us that humanity is moving inexorable forward. None of this is true. It defies human nature and human history. But it is what we want to believe. . .Religious thought is a guide to morality. It points humans toward inquiry. It seeks to unfettered the mind form prejudices that blunt reflection and self criticism. We are all flawed. Human ambitions and pursuits are vanity. the ancient Greeks held in high esteem the command they believed came from Apollo: 'Know thyself.' To know ourselves is to accept our limitations and imperfections. it is to reject absolutism. Ideas are not coded in DNA. They are fragile and need to be nurtured and protected. We are bound to this Earth by our common urges and our instincts, our capacity to be moral and immoral. It is when we face the intractable nature of our being that we begin to build a viable system of ethics. Utopian dreamers, lifting up impossible ideals, plunge us into depravity and violence. It is those who are broken, those who see the shifting sands of our inner lives and the fictive narratives we hide behind, who can save us. They speak to our common humanity. They appeal to our humility. They talk not of power but of transcendent. They talk of reverence. And in their words we see the limits of reason and the possibilities of religion."

Sri Mayapur International School (SMIS) ends 2008-2009 academic school year.





TO the right and beyond structure below you can see the Ganga (below). It is a great place to chant japa during lunch breaks.The next two pictures below show the new structure. In between the main building and the new one is a hut with swings and other exciting things under it.

Our new good buddy, Ashley Turner, invited us to sing for her yoga class as a follow-up to the kirtan we had done for her at the Yoga Journal Conference in NYC. We were already excited to come to Exhale, Santa Monica to do that. Then, Saul David Raye, who had performed beautifully at the Chant4Change event in January, found out that we were in town, and asked us to sing for his class, too.

We went down for Saul’s class and had beautiful kirtan. Ashley, so sweet and humble, attended one of Saul’s classes as a student and then stayed afterwards to teach her own class. Singing for both classes was a phenomenal experience. It is always wonderful to work with teachers who love, cherish and incorporate the music so deeply into their classes.  It was also uplifting to be able to play with our friend, the incredible musician and yogi, Zat Baraka.

Later that day, we went to our friend, Narayan’s house in the Sunset Hills, which is an amazing place. It looked like something between a Kung Fu movie and an ancient Indian or Tibetan temple. Narayan is an amazing chef, and he cooked some tasty prasad: rice and beans. While we were still at Narayan’s house, we met up we our friend from Yogamates, Kasey Luber. She did a video interview of me for the website, Yogamates.com. We were sitting outside with her and her friends in the warm California sunshine, under a small tent near Narayan’s pool, beaneath the cascading hills of Hollywood. It was beautiful. We talked about the ancient history of kirtan and sacred sound.

Listen to the entire Kirtan!

To listen, click on the links below then press play. To download, Right Click on the word “Download” and select “Save As…” from the menu. Having trouble downloading? Read our Help Section.

• 01 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, ZatBaraka - Radha Govinda (39)
• 02 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, ZatBaraka - Rama Bolo (16)
• 03 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, Zat Baraka - Jai Hara Gange (19)
• 04 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, ZatBaraka - Instrumental (16)
• 05 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, Zat Baraka - Hey Natha Narayana (22)
• 06 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, Zat Baraka - Vande Guroh Sri (25)
• 07 Gaura Vani, Bardaraj, Zat Baraka - Jaya Radhe (34)
• 08 Gaura Vani, Zat Baraka - Guru (15)
• 09 Gaura Vani, Zat Baraka - Instrumental (18)
• 10 Zat Baraka, Gaura Vani - Mahadeva Shambo (22)
• 11 Gaura Vani, Zat Baraka - Govinda Jaya Jaya (29)
• 12 Zat Baraka, Gaura Vani - Hallelujah (26)
• 13 Gaura Vani, Zat Baraka - Hare Krsna (62)

We do not mean to say that Reason is a foolish principle. On the contrary we do not find better admirers of Reason than our humble selves. We hold that man's superiority amongst all created beings consists in man's possessing the noble gift of Reason.

What we maintain is this, that independent of this noble principle there is another higher gift in man which goes by the name of Love. Reason helps Love to maintain its proper bounds in the Spiritual world. Love often tends to degrade itself by exercising its function on objects other then God and converts itself into lust for women, wine, meat and gold. Here Reason advises her to rise higher till she reaches her proper sphere above.

Thus we find that the object of Reason is to help Love and not to create it. Reason may be properly styled as the servant of Love and must always be subject to her in all her hopes, aspirations, and holy works.

The Rationalist on the contrary considers Reason as all and all! This is a degradation of humanity! The progressive Rationalist, on the other hand, believes in the principle of love, but attempts to make her the maid-servant of Reason! This is another error! He makes spiritual love sometimes a prisoner in the jails of Reason! Love wants to soar on her spiritual wings to a realm where the Jailer (Reason) cannot go and the latter is sure to tie up her wings for fear lest she goes to an unworthy place!

Love utters sounds of a spiritual character peculiar to herself, but Reason, having no pervious experience of it, mistakes it for a disease and administers medicine for her cure!! Thus it is that the natural strength of the Queen of our Soul is crippled by artificial administration of the dry principle of Reason and she rests in us as if a bird taken in a cage! Oh! What a havoc doth Reason commit by abuse of his power. Oh! Shame to the Rationalist! God help the man!!

Theist take care of those amongst you who mix with you only by assuming the name of Theist but are in fact Rationalists of a very dry character. They are divisible into two classes vis. the designing and the dupes. The designing Theist is he who is in fact a Rationalist but by assuming the name of Theist wants to degrade the sincere by his bad influence. He that calls himself a Theist in order to get rid of the name of Rationalist but still holds Love in subjection to Reason is a dupe because he is unable to find out his own position. The sincere Theist should however take care of both of them and preserve the sovereignty of Love over Reason and his comrades.

It has been way too long since I've written anything and I can feel my fingers itching to transfer everything that has been locked up in the recesses of my mind. However, it seems that time has been my number one enemy. With so many thing going on including the upcoming Toronto Ratha Yatra/Yoga Meltdown, traveling, various other services and looking for a job, there just aren't enough hours in a day!

But that being said, I remember a promise I made to myself that I would try to write at least something everyday. So this is my humble attempt to keep that promise.

Today I got a glimpse of how wonderful it is to simply sing for the Lord without any pretense, show or any motivation. I had the great fortune to sing during mangala aarti for Sri Sri Radha Gopivallabha, who are the keepers to my beloved Guru Maharaja's heart. It was very simple. With almost nobody else in the room with me and just keeping a basic beat on a pair of kartalas, it was a magical moment. It was a moment to simply be there, not ask their most beautiful Lordships for anything, but simply sing the praises of their dearmost devotees.

Well, it's been nearly 3 months since my last blog entry. Not really much going on besides soccer mom duties that ran until May, lots of end of school year activities, and getting run over by household duties.

Without going into too much detail i'll also say that my husband and I have been really contemplating the future and where it may take us. I'm beginning to have anxiety for my children's spiritual lives and am thinking that a change of environment may be looming on the horizon. It is becoming more and more difficult to shelter them here. They go to school and thrive materially, but I want so much more for them. I don't have enough self determination and motivation to provide all of their spiritual needs. I'm praying to Krishna for some guidance and of course i need to humble myself and ask my guru maharaj for guidance.

The vyasa-puja of HH Prabhavisnu Maharaja was observed in the morning and Aditi Dukhaha Prabhu sang his intense kirtanas. Back at the room we found the GSM had no more memory space for taking pictures; we had to transfer them to portable USB memory via Bluetooth and delete them from the mobile phone. Using a devotee's laptop, struggling with the settings, we finally succeeded. Lunch was brought to our room by eager devotees, and we went to conduct a seminar, 'Happy Vaishnava Life,' at 5 pm.

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By Matsya Avatara Dasa

From the book: the 26 Qualities of the Spiritual Researcher

It is important to know the noble qualities we need to develop in order to successfully perform the journey of self-realization, but it is also important to know what are the obstacles along this path, those defects of the personality that, if not cured and healed, could not only make our journey a terrible experience, but also prevent us from attaining our destination. In fact artha means objective, purpose, and anartha is whatever prevents its attainment.

Kama is the first anartha of the list and coincides with passion, ardent desire and lust. When a person is victim to kama he is searching for pleasure, a pleasure that is disconnected from reality and comes as a form of hallucination that allures the individual. This so-called pleasure cannot be obtained without great efforts and tribulations, and in any case it cannot be maintained. Often, to attain it one needs to dilapidate time and energies, burning resources and substances; sometimes kama causes one to step over the rights of others, betray one's rules of ethical behavior and one's values, and as such it will eventually bring acute sufferings.

Krodha is anger that is almost always manifested after the frustration of kama. As well explained by Krishna in Bhagavad-gita¹, when the desire for egoic gratification is not fulfilled for a reason or another, then anger originates in its various hues.

In order to put anger to the service of dharma, the cosmic order, it must be different from a pathological impulse. It should rather be originated from elevated motivations, for example defending persons or situations from violence or injustice, or strongly opposing the endangerment of spiritual principles or values. Even a saintly person can become angry, but such anger will not explode in unwarranted circumstances and will not have the destructive and negative results of the pathological type.

Lobha means greed: to be mistakenly convinced of needing something, while on the contrary it is a false need induced by one's conditionings or by the surrounding environment. Thus a person who already possesses a car thinks he needs another one, one who already has two coats believes he needs to buy a third one, and so on. For example modern literature, especially the Freudian books, have introduced a very dangerous principle in society, inducing the masses to believe that sexual activity is a necessity to be put on the same level of eating or sleeping. Even in so-called cultural milieus many believe that without satisfying such appetites one becomes neurotic, and that one should cater to them without making distinctions between artificial or real causes.

Moha is illusion, the confusion of the mind. Generally it is not perceived by the individual who, on the contrary, believes he is very clear-headed, while in fact he is confused and a victim of the frequent psychic phenomenon caused by a deep conditioning that resides in the subconscious and distorts vision and understanding of reality.

Mada means conceit and arrogance. This anartha is characteristic of persons who have a big ego, who do not possess humility and kindness, and who believe they can find pleasure in oppressing others. In fact, the knowledge of psychology shows us that authoritarianism is the exact contrary of authoritativeness and that violent behaviors (whether violence is subtle or not) hide deep frailties and insecurities, and will obviously bring sufferings and guilt.

Matsara is the anti-virtue that is known with the name of envy, but is often present also in its hue of jealousy. It is a typical disease of those who do not know the law of the remuneration of actions (karma) and only search for happiness externally: envy includes negative sentiments such as jealousy, hatred, resentment, and general hostility towards those who possess something that the envious person does not have and would like to have. The envious' tendency is to minimize and demean those he feels are better than him; this destructive attitude is often manifested also on the objective platform, when a person who is sick with matsara tries to create obstacles to the "better person" in his projects or initiatives.

The cancer of envy can also affect evolved beings such as the devas - just think of the story of the Govardhana Hill, where Indra becomes angry because the cowherds of Vrindavana are offering sacrifices to Krishna rather than to him. One who is afflicted by anarthas suffers, and a suffering person is always a cause of suffering for others, too, exactly like a joyful and harmonious person spreads his beneficial mood also in the environment around him.

Generally we like to be near people who are not envious, subject to anger, fault-finding or other similar personality defects. However, while cultivating the company of elevated person, the sage also makes himself available to the needy people, although he keeps his distance from those who do not wish to improve themselves.

Hell is not a physical place but a particularly dark and painful state of existence; all spiritual traditions state that those who cause pain, suffering, unease, and discomfort will be subjected to the same pain, the same suffering, the same discomfort with mathematical symmetry. It's not about someone's wickedness, it is the Nature of the things that dictates this universally valid law. The example of the mirror can help us: make a grimace and the mirror will respond with the same grimace, smile and the mirror will smile back, beg and the mirror will give you back the same begging face.

Each anartha that has become a second nature to us, that has become congenital, must be understood like some inheritance from the previous lifetime - a problem that we had not solved, a debt still to be paid. The therapy consists in obtaining the knowledge and practicing the required virtue under the guidance of a Master who engages us in a sacred service, giving us the opportunity to apply his teachings by following a method and a concrete project for our life.

By Devaki Prana dasa

Local devotees from Iskcon, the Gaudiya matha, and the babas are lining together as a tag team, bringing up the buckets of butter mud up the stairs to an awaiting tractor and trailer to be taken away.