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June 02, 2008

Club 108, New Vrndavan, USA : Simple Living, High Thinking #1

For the week of May 25th-June 1st, 2008

Indra finally let us have a little peace this week, as the rains let up and we were able to go full tilt into cultivation and tender caring of our Teaching Garden (the educational agricultural arm of our Small Farm Training Center here at New Vrindaban Dham).

What we got done:
-We mulched to our hearts content, and even beyond contentment as well. A pungent mix of dry grass, cow dung, and goat dung was spread over 75% of our beds as fertilizer. Our various guests from India and Guyana appreciated the non-chemical and guilt-free quality of our efforts, reminding them of days of yore back in their home lands. Old school...

Guilt-free fertilizer

-We planted two different varieties of tomatoes, a small portion of basil, a few rows of cucumbers, and we harvested a lot of radish leaf for the pleasure of our goats. Our artichokes, lettuce, cilantro, and brussel sprouts are also blooming nicely, and we sold $20 of organic produce from those beds during the Sunday feast.

Tapah tries to convince him that organic lettuce is better than Oreos

-We put up fences and posts for our cucumber and bitter melon beds.

Tom and Jeff try not to get poison ivy

-The kids from Gopal's Garden got their hands dirty planting basil, and they mulched and weeded their beds of spinach and chard. They were pretty darn blissful feeding weeds to the goats as well.
What we realized.
The opulence of the fruits of the land can be overlooked if one doesn't take the time to literally dig deeper. The roots, stems, weeds....it all has a purpose, a healthy benefit, if we know how to use it. Here, we can see the completeness of Krsna...oḿ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaḿ pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate....The way He provides for us by letting Mother Earth produce all that we need. It's a honor to get our hands dirty in this way.

Even the local primate community is pleased!

Please help us out! Your hands, heads, and hearts can help us restore Srila Prabhupada's vision of self-sufficency here at New Vrindaban Dham. We're out shining and even in the rain in the Teaching Garden across the street from the RVC Temple, or up the hill at the Garden of Seven Gates. See HG Tapahpunja Prabhu for all the details.

Stay tuned for next week's update! Hari Haribol!

by Club 108 (noreply@blogger.com) at June 02, 2008 08:00 AM

Sita-pati dasa : Al Qaeda, ISKCON, and Gender Roles

That other group dedicated to the downfall of materialistic globalized civilization is also facing significant internal debate over traditional gender roles. From CNN comes the story: "Al Qaeda faces gender debate".

Muslim extremist women are challenging al Qaeda's refusal to include -- or at least acknowledge -- women in its ranks, in an emotional debate that gives rare insight into the gender conflicts lurking beneath one of the strictest strains of Islam.

It's interesting to note how a group that is arguably the quintessence of the agrarian backlash to post-industrial global society is also being pulled kicking and screaming into post-modernity.

Al-Zawahiri's remarks show the fine line al Qaeda walks in terms of public relations. In a modern Arab world where women work even in some conservative countries, al Qaeda's attitude could hurt its efforts to win over the public at large. On the other hand, noted SITE director Katz, al-Zawahiri has to consider that many al Qaeda supporters, such as the Taliban, do not believe women should play a military role in jihad.

Hmmm... perhaps they should consider annotations? Then again, that might be singularly divisive, since the two camps have practically diametrically opposed views.

Al-Zawahiri's question-and-answer campaign is one sign of al Qaeda's sophistication in using the Web to keep in touch with its popular base, even while its leaders remain in hiding. However, the Internet has also given those disenfranchised by al Qaeda -- in this case, women -- a voice they never had before.

Go the web and people who have figured out how it alters the game! ISKCON has the venerable D.A.S.I (Devotees Associating with Spiritual Intent) blog - which is not to be confused with the new (Vaisnava) Dasi blog, which is for the more militantly activist wing. The older, more established D.A.S.I blog is focused on individual spiritual practice, with a mission that includes focusing on developing members' Krishna consciousness and deepening their relationships, and a longer term focus of "Personal…Local…Global". The new Dasi blog, on the other hand, is more political in nature, focuses on day-to-day current events, and calls members to political action, including lobbying the individual members of the GBC (their email addresses are helpfully listed on the front page). Recent pronouncements coming from the GBC do give the impression that the body is responsive to this form of influence.

Interestingly I stumbled across this in my RSS-feeds today:

Bureaucracies tend to define their church’s mission as a form of liberalism for another reason: They are easily taken over by politically organized groups, both because such people tend to join them to advance their cause and because an organized group can easily be given a place in the process. Liberals are politically more active and better organized, in part because traditional believers are working on their sermons or running soup kitchens or raising their children or helping their neighbors.

- Reorganizing Religion - Why the Church Bureaucracies Have to Go

I'm not saying that this is the case in ISKCON, but if it were, the new Dasi blog deliberately or instinctively (woman's intuition?) homes in on that leverage point.

And if some Vaisnavis find even this level of political activism still too moderate for their taste, there's always that other revolutionary organization to go to, to take it to the next level:

Women bent on becoming militants have at least one place to turn to. A niche magazine called "al-Khansaa" -- named for a female poet in pre-Islamic Arabia who wrote lamentations for two brothers killed in battle -- has popped up online. The magazine is published by a group that calls itself the "women's information office in the Arab peninsula," and its contents include articles on women's terrorist training camps, according to SITE.

More power to the sisters!

(And no, I am not calling politically active women in ISKCON "terrorists", just to be clear on that point.)

by sitapati at June 02, 2008 07:47 AM

Dandavats.com on Cows : Care for Cows June Newsletter

Hare KrishnaBy Kurma Rupa Das

Our web site has suffered major problems and is being rebuilt. We should be back to normal soon. Please bear with us. Our June 2008 Care for Cows Newsletter has been posted. Please review it at your earliest convenience.

by Administrator at June 02, 2008 06:51 AM

KC & Ecological Awareness : Anecdotes of a Modern-Day Saint


Prabhupada asked, “Why is the sand crab running?”  Scientists would say, “The sand crab is running away due to instinct.  His instinct is to go to his hole.”  But Prabhupada said that there is no such thing as instinct.  Instinct is a word that’s been coined by the scientists to cover up the fact that there is Supersoul, there is God and there is past experience.  He explained this is detail, and it finally dawned on me that, “I have been taught Darwinism in school all my life, and even though I had been a devotee for seven years, I was raised to think that the birds and beasts are operating by instinct.”  Day after day Prabhupada blasted this philosophy in great detail. 

Prabhupada said, “Suppose you know where the privy [bathroom] is, and twenty years from now you return to the same house.  Because you were here twenty years ago, you still know where the privy is.  Similarly, you have been in the body for many lifetimes, so you know to look for the mother’s breast.  The baby animal is nudging for the mother’s breast.  It’s past experience, the past lifetime, and it’s the Supersoul within the heart that guides the living entity.  It’s not instinct.  There is no such thing as instinct.  Instinct makes no sense.  What does instinct mean?  If you stop to think about it and analyze it, you will see that it means absolutely nothing.  Yet the scientists have convinced everyone that the whole of nature is moving by instinct.  But the whole of nature is not moving by instinct.  It’s moving by Supersoul.”

-Govinda Devi Dasi, Memories

by environmentkrishna at June 02, 2008 01:08 AM

New Vrndavan : Getting Our Hands Dirty

Click here to head one over to the Club 108 blog for the first installment of our weekly series “Simple Living, High Thinking”, as we let you know all about our adventures living the dream of real honest-to-goodness farm life, via our Small Farm Training Center and our beautiful garden projects (the Teaching Garden and the Garden of Seven Gates).

by bc at June 02, 2008 12:59 AM

June 01, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : Day of the Vegans

Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, and even cosmetics and soaps derived from animal products.

But you knew this already, didn't you.

Some uninformed people still think vegetarians and especially vegans must be emaciated and pale, and maybe a little trembly due to malnutrition. Yesterday's class on Queensland's Gold Coast blew that idea right out of the water. Our robust and buffed crew of vegans ploughed into their cookery tasks like a warm knife through Nuttelex.

baba gannouj team:

That's Paul, Leah, Lisa and Nick, with their freshly-made Baba Gannouj (flame-roasted eggplant with tahini, lemon juice and herbs). And below is the ever-smiling Swami chopping the parsley. Gosh, there was a lot of parsley.

Swami chops the parsley:

Our generous hosts Kevin (partly obscured, third from centre) and John (far left) were extremely hospitable and kind. Kevin's vegan cupcakes are famous for miles around. If you're a fan of cupcakes but are fed up with trying to figure out how to replace the eggs and other unacceptables, I recommend the spectacular "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero. I brought home a copy.

it's time to dine:

It was indeed a joyous event, and a pleasure to cook with so many soft-hearted souls dedicated to treading lightly on Mother Earth.

vegan comestibles:

by Kurma at June 01, 2008 09:09 PM

Kurma das, Australia : Happy Birthday, Blog!

3rd birthday:

Today, 2 June 2008, marks the 3rd birthday of my blog. After crawling and dribbling toothlessly through it's formative years, it's now up and running, gnashing its teeth. The pitter-patter of it's tiny feet can be distinctly heard in the internet world. May it live long!

If you wish to go back and reminisce, visit my blog archives.

by Kurma at June 01, 2008 08:46 PM

ISCOWP : Meet the Cowherds


Meet the Cowherds
At the first ISKCON EU Farm Conference
By Chayadevi

Devotees came from nine countries to attend the first annual ISKCON farm Conference at New Vraja-dhama in Hungary. America, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden, and Hungary were represented. Many of these devotee cowherds and farmers serve their farms in a rural setting distant from a bustling city temple. They perform their service with little recognition and applause, but their reward is in the service itself to the cows and land. Not only is there spiritual reward but there is also the joy that comes from a peaceful and healthy life close to the land and cows.

In the last approximately ten years, there has been a decline in the development of ISKCON farms and in the ISKCON consciousness of the importance of such farms to the spiritual development of ISKCON as a whole. This conference, organized by the ISKCON European Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture, Syamasundara das, was the beginning step to reverse this trend within Europe. In that attempt, it was a success, with the devotees leaving inspired and hopeful for the future.


Clockwise: Smita Krishna Swami, Balabhadra das, Syamasundara das, Gaura Sakti das

Balabhadra das, ISKCON Global Minister for Cow Protection and Agriculture gave the opening address. He spoke how within our movement, there is a need for a social structure that will provide a haven from the outside world where devotees can live and raise their children peacefully so they too can be Krishna Conscious. Srila Prabhupada envisioned such a social structure within farm life, village life, with the cows and land providing the necessities of life. Our farm communities are therefore very important, as they are the starting point of developing self-sufficient life. “The whole idea is that we are ISKCON, a community to be independent from outside help.” S.P. letter to Satyabhama March 30, 1969 As the world changes with higher gas prices creating higher cost of food and living in general, such farms will be seen more valuable to more people as providing the answers to a more and more difficult life.


Nandi the bull meeting Govardhanlal on tour of Vraja-dhama

The conference was graciously hosted by Gaura Sakti das, president of the New Vraja-dhama farm community in Hungary. At present, New Vraja-dhama is the most advanced European ISKCON farm in the development of self-sufficiency. A part of the conference was touring the New Vraja-dhama operation. From June through October, the community of 120 consumes only fresh produce from the farm, and during the winter months, they are self-sufficient in grains, and potatoes. A storage unit with 3 seperate chambers, each 150 feet long by 20 feet wide was just built at New Vraja-dhama for this purpose. Five trained teams of oxen are active and perform most of the farm work. 2000 fruit trees produce a variety of fruits, and eight devotees care for the five acres of vegetables.

The guided tours, given by Gaura Sakti das, were an inspiration because they showed the possibilities for every ISKCON farm. Other farms also gave presentations. Varnasrama das talked about the successful flourmill business that helps support the Czech farm. At the Czech farm, they produce all their own flour from the grains they grow. They also sell the flour and produce cookie prasadam, which they sell and distribute on sankirtan. Haladhara das, from the Cornwell farm project in England, gave a presentation of the Govardhan Whole Food business that helps support their project. Salad boxes, which cost little to produce, are getting a maximum return.

Issues, such as providing for the cowherd and farmer so he can stay on the farm and support his family, were discussed with solutions suggested. Smita Krishna Swami from the Sweden farm described how they provide housing for such devotees. Gaura Sakti das joined in with a description of their housing development and arrangements.

Aside from the practical discussions and information on how to support and operate a self-sufficient Krishna Conscious farm, Sivarama Swami, ISKCON Guru, GBC, and spiritual leader of New Vrajadhama, and Balabhadra das, spoke about the spiritual importance and need for such farm projects. Sivarama Swami stated that to have cow protection one must have cow protectors and the cow protectors must be protected so they can protect the cows. To provide this protection and for cow protection to thrive there is need for the social system of Varnasrama in which cow protection is an integral part. He also stated that to be a cowherd is as important as standing on a corner distributing books.

As explained by Balabhadra das, the entire cycle of preparing the land with the oxen, planting the seed, nuturing the plant that comes, harvesting the fruits of the plant, and then offering it to Radhe Shyam, the residing deities at new Vraja-dhama, is the perfection of devotional life.

Some of the presentations have been recorded at Sivarama Swami’s blog, check the archives for May 20 and 21:

Appeared on Dandavats May 30.

by Balabhadra das (noreply@blogger.com) at June 01, 2008 07:06 PM

Madhava Ghosh, New Vrndavan : Why I Love Our 1990 Toyota Corolla


Besides sentimental value, low personal property taxes, and having a spare one for parts, read the following article for global warming reasons that I keep repairing our 1990 Toyota Corolla. We get 28 mpg ridge/34 mpg highway.

We used to have a 1993 Geo Metro but it was destroyed in a rear end collision by a Ford van. I was stopped and it barreled into me at speed. The impact was so great that afterwards my glasses were found back in the rear window. The Metro was totally unsalvageable.

Go Green — Buy a Used Car. It’s Better Than a Hybrid

Ditching your gas guzzler is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint, but if you really want to do something about global warming, get a used car. You’ll be putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

As Matt Power notes in this month’s issue of Wired, hybrids get great gas mileage but it takes 113 million BTUs of energy to make a Toyota Prius. Because there are about 113,000 BTUs of energy in a gallon of gasoline, the Prius has consumed the equivalent of 1,000 gallons of gasoline before it reaches the showroom. Think of it as a carbon debt — one you won’t pay off until the Prius has turned over 46,000 miles or so.

There’s an easy way to avoid that debt — buy a used car. The debt has already been paid. But not just any used car will do.

It has to be something fuel efficient. Like, say, a 1998 Toyota Tercel that gets 27 mpg city / 35 mpg highway miles. The Prius will have to go 100,000 miles to achieve the same carbon savings as the 10-year-old Tercel. Get behind the wheel of a 1994 Geo Metro XFi, which matches the Prius’ 46 mpg, and the Prius would never close the carbon gap, Power writes.

There are a lot of used cars out there that top 30 mpg, and more than a few that reach into the 40s. Just about any Ford Festiva or Aspire will deliver 33 mpg. The mid-’90s Mazda Proteges are good for 30 mpg or so, as are the Dodge Colts of the early ’90s.

Go back a little further and the Honda CRX HF models will give you 39 to 45 mpg in a sporty two-seater that’s fun to drive. If you don’t mind driving the cheapest of cheap econoboxes, the 1985 Chevrolet Chevette got 36 mpg and the ‘87 Chevrolet Sprint got 40.

You may laugh, but these cars are becoming big sellers. USA Today says fuel-misers from the early 1990s are selling like crazy and prices have gone up 30 percent in the past few months. A rust-bucket Geo Metro with 175,000 on the odometer recently sold for three grand on eBay.

Of course, it can be tough finding a car that old that hasn’t been beaten like a drum, and Robyn Eckard of Kelley Blue Book tells us most used car buyers prefer something no more than 5 to 7 years old and with fewer than 100K on the odometer. No problem.

The auto industry has spent much of the past decade cranking out SUVs, but it has managed to offer a few highly efficient cars as well. The Toyota Echo delivers 30 mpg or better, as does the Honda Civic. The Chevrolet Prizm and Mini Cooper come close. Volkswagen’s diesels are good for mileage in the low 30s.

We’ve undoubtedly left some off the list. But the point is, you don’t need to buy a Prius — or any other hybrid, for that matter — to get great fuel economy and minimize your carbon footprint. You might feel better driving a hybrid, but you won’t necessarily be greener.

by Madhava Gosh at June 01, 2008 11:48 AM

May 31, 2008

Madhava Ghosh, New Vrndavan : Full Circle: Tulasi Working At The Palace Gardens


Here is a picture of Tulasi working in the flower gardens at Prabhupada’s Palace of Gold. He is digging holes so Gopa can plant the cannas that she started in the greenhouse from roots saved in the fall from last season.

He just came home from college to spend the summer and Gopa snatched him up first thing to help as the cool rainy spring has her behind on the planting schedule. He will help her for a couple of weeks until planting is finished.

FYI, he is working his way through college so anyone who could use a strong young guy let us know because he is looking for jobs.

Vidya was commenting that this was a full circle because she was the original gardener at the Palace before Tulasi was even born and now he is working there. She had collaborated with Kirtanananda Swami in designing and planting the first garden and manged them for several years until Betty Hickey took over.

Now Betty is semi-retired, focusing on the roses, and Gopa is taking the responsibility for the rest of the gardens. Gopa was out fund raising in the early years of the gardens but now has her chance to enjoy the nectar.

Most of the original plants can no longer be grown at the Palace because of deer damage but cannas are still the backbone because deer don’t eat them. Cannas were my contribution to the garden scheme. We didn’t have them back home in North Dakota growing up so when I saw some growing down in Moundsville I was fascinated by them and lobbied successfully against no resistance for their inclusion. They continue to be planted to this very day.

by Madhava Gosh at May 31, 2008 12:17 PM

May 30, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : Like a Virgin

your chariot awaits...:

I'm catching Virgin Flight DJ 519 to Australia's 'Sunny Gold Coast' (read 'wet and windy') today. There's a vegan cooking class a'brewin'.

kurma cooking renaissance:

Here's our menu:

The Global Vegan

Fragrant South Indian Hot & Sour Toor Dal Soup (Rasam) Orange and Pecan-studded Canadian Wild Rice and Basmati Pilaff BBQ Asparagus with Semi-dried Tomato & Macadamia Chutney Mild Karnataka-style Poriyal of Cauliflower, Potato and Peas Succulent Mixed Vegetable Balls in Herbed Tomato Sauce (Kofta) Dubai-style Salad of Dates, Turkish Bread, Almonds, Bitter Greens, Roasted Tofu & Fresh Herbs Smoky Lebanese Eggplant Dip (Babagannouj) Epiphany Doughnuts in Lemon-scented Rose & Orange-Blossom Syrup

Stay tuned...

by Kurma at May 30, 2008 06:25 PM

Dandavats.com on Cows : First ISKCON EU Farm Conference

Hare KrishnaBy Chayadevi

Devotees came from nine countries to attend the first annual ISKCON farm Conference at New Vraja-dhama in Hungary. America, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden, and Hungary were represented.

by Administrator at May 30, 2008 03:07 PM

Smile of Krishna : Big Step Towards Srila Prabhupada’s Desire

Srila Prabhupada has voiced these words thirty years ago:
Our farm projects are an extremely important part of our movement. We must become self sufficient by growing our own grains and producing our own milk, then there will be no question of poverty. So develop these farm communities as far as possible. They should be developed as an ideal society depending on natural products not industry. Industry has simply created godlessness, because they think they can manufacture everything that they need. Our Bhagavad-gita philosophy explains that men and animals must have food in order to maintain their bodies. And the production of food is dependent on chanting Hare Krishna. Therefore let everyone chant Hare Krishna, eat nicely and keep their bodies fit and healthy. This is ideal life style.

Again around these times, in another speech, Srila Prabhupada has mentioned that the International Society of Krishna Consciousness is just on the half way and emphasised on building of Varnashrama; meaning that our Vaishnava heritage; the rural communities has to be realised.

While Srila Prabhupada’s thirtieth disappearance year was nearly over, during the winters meditative peacefullness, I saw my prabhuji diving into long thoughts and in quite distress… when he expressed himself we faced this question: “then what will we do now?” The rural community project that has started 15 years ago with the blessings of Radhe Syama, guru and the devotees in Hungary has now reached to a point where it can produce its own natural grain and milk, offering a healthy and spiritual life to all of the community from elders to children, mothers to oxen. With the attractive happiness of the residents every year growing numbers of guests and tourists tastes a very pleasing atmosphere.

This very beautiful picture on one side, our hearts were sad and in search. Because although the movement Srila Prabhupada installed was international, globally rural communities were not developed and those present were nearing to vanishing point. Then my mind wondered to the natural fact of how a growing fruit tree gives flowers and fruits, awakening to me that today Krishna-valley is like a spring messenger in blossom. We found ourselves looking on the world atlas, thinking where else rural communities can be installed.

Spring arrived and a few days ago the great moment came where we have been looking forward to in excitement. We took a big step towards Srila Prabhupada’s desire by hosting the “Cow Protection and Developing Rural Communities” conference here in Krishna-valley. The conference was held up with nearly thirty representatives from European countries (Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, England, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia) directed by the European Cow Protection and Agriculture manager Shyamasundara prabhu who gave us a presentation on the general condition of European farms with their self sufficiency, capacity of oxens used on agriculture, milk production, forest usage, housing capacity etc. with graphics. The conclusion of this practical presentation revealed the fact that many of the farms which are counted to be, were actually not present at all or near to coming to an end. Despite two, three farms, there is no one using oxen actively for agriculture and moreover, most of them are just waiting for the cows to die away form old age.

We see the most interesting side of this condition when we take a look at the milk usage. These “said to be farm” communities are using more milk then even the best milk producer farms. How so? They are simply buying milk from the market. In earlier times, where there were no communities at all, Srila Prabhupada agreed that we could buy milk, consoling devotees with the knowledge of ajnata sukriti in Vedas. Surely it is true that by offering the milk to Krishna, we are helping the spiritual life of that mother, who is crying while being milked with machines and when she can not give any more milk, is sent to the slaughter house. Now after nearly half a decade, please take a moment and hear your heart. How long we will keep on hiding behind ajnata sukriti? Are we aware of the growing slaughter industry and its many complications to the humanity and environment behind our acts? Is this the way of life in Krishna consciousness?

The honor guests in the conference were Balabhadra prabhu and his wife Chayadevi mataji from USA. Full of detailed knowledge developing through many years of endeavor, today they are representing the International Cow Protection organization. After giving a memorable speech on where humanity is heading to within the movement and the world, they distrubuted us their valuable research material in big book size. It is covering the thoughts of Srila Prabhupada on cow protection and rural communities, practical cattle care and how we can settle the values of cow protection.

Maybe the hardest condition to digest they have been facing throughout many years of services is the lack of interest and importance given within the movement of Krishna consciousness. On his speech, Balabhadra prabhu took our attention to the pictures describing Krishna’s life with the cows, those that many of us love so much. And revealed the striking fact: Appearance of Krishna as a cowherd boy is “on purpose”. In this way, with all His beautiful lilas, He is teaching us how to serve and love the cows and the land.

Later on, Smita Krsna Svami Maharaj described the development and maintanence of the rural community with thirty inhabitants in Sweden and answered questions on the matter of house-land ownership. With encouraging projects, Dhirasanta and Haladhara prabhu gave a representation on organic vegetable production, honey and soap workshops and a movie showing their latest wheat grinder working powered with a condition cycle. Haladhara prabhu described how he is able to earn good income from egzotic salad production which is all year around producable and only of about 10m land. Local and organic production, recyclable and natural packaging are the choices of English public interested on the matter. Varnasrama prabhu and his wife Padma Mukhi mataji from Czech Republic talked on the good quality wheat and flour production, maintainance of the farm with nice photos.

In the end of the conference while everyone was expressing these valuable two days happiness, Balabhadra prabhu gave a speech hardly keeping his tears away. The conference came to a common conclusion that for cow protection and the development of rural communities, there is a need to increase communication within the movement, to inform the european GBC and to realise financial support, propagation and education through leaders.

The two day conference programs afternoons was spent with excursion-education tours. First day Govardhan Lal also joined us with the help of Haladar and Thakur pulling His cart. We had a walk to the goshala, vegetable-fruit gardens and to the cellars.

During walk, our guests found the chance to speak with the devotees on fields and examine the devices used.

Smita Krsna Svami Maharaj and Syamasundara prabhu listening the goshala presentation. A newly arrived 70 year old wheat ear separation machine working with the ox power was observed with interest.

Anthardi prabhu showing the grass cutting technique.

Our youngest oxes, Vishala and Sundara’s walking exercises also took a lot of interest. Next day the enthusiastic group visited various houses where there is no city water-electricity and observed natural living in our village. Towards evening while we visited our bee colonies, gathering information on beekeeping and the products, all of our guests were in happiness. We offered to host the next conference next May in Krishna-valley and started educational programs on different areas of self sufficiency and organic agriculture. Already we are now hosting two devotees from England Bhaktivedanta Manor, coming for training on bee keeping. We will be happy to help you if you are interested, lets keep in touch.

by Adi Radhika Dasi at May 30, 2008 03:03 PM

Madhava Ghosh, New Vrndavan : Gosh Gets Stuck


I have been thinning/harvesting trees between the State road and the lake near the temple. When they were planted 20+ years ago, they were over planted for immediate effect, and should have been thinned starting about 10 years ago.

Besides taking out the dead and dying trees, I have been opening up some sight lines and clearing around specimen trees, like the tamarack tree I opened up yesterday. I have been working along the state road, not necessarily because the need is greatest there but because I perceive the need every time I drive to the temple.

I lack the vigor of youth so I can only do a few hours at a time and only once in a while, but over the next 3-4 years I will accomplish the task of managing the forest in the temple area.

I had pulled my vehicle over to the side of the road while dropping a locust tree. When I went around to the side of the van to get my saw, I stepped into a grass concealed groundhog hole and almost fell over, doing a little tango with a wild rose bush in the process. No blood shed in this particular encounter with an insidious multiflora rose, but not a pleasant experience.

After I gassed up my saw and got it ready, I moved back from the van and stepped into the same exact hole again. Doh.

As the tree was going to drop in the State road, I got Vyapi, who was cleaning up the trimmed off branches of previous dropped trees, to come help. He watched for traffic so I didn’t drop the locust on the roof of a passing car, and then helped get the branches I cut off to the side of the road so traffic wasn’t impeded.

After he left, I loaded my saw into the van and tried to pull away. Due to the rising elevation of the road, no weight on the rear axle, and the accumulated grit on the side of the road left over from cinder spreading in the winter, the wheels spun out.

Without stopping to evaluate the situation, I put it in reverse and started to back down the hill onto the road. As there were a lot of trimmed branches behind the van from the locust tree, and they sometimes have tire puncturing properties, I swung the front of the van in order to miss them.

Remember the groundhog hole from earlier in this story? Amazingly enough, it was still there, obeying the laws of physics.

Thus when the front wheel encountered it, gravity prevailed, coupled with the principle of an inclined plane, or complete lack thereof in the straight sides of the hole, so the front wheel dropped in and I was stuck.

Off I walk the hundred meters to where Vyapi was working. This was in the latter part of my half day’s worth of stamina, so I sat on his rig he was hauling branches with while he walked down to the garden to get the Marines to come to the rescue.

That would be Bhakta Tom (”Once a Marine, always a Marine”) who brought the garden’s truck and a chain.

Here is the van chained up ready to be pulled out. Note the locust branches on the side I cleaned away to get at the van. The white stuff on the ground is locust blossoms that were jarred loose when the tree was felled, and were not flowers showered by demigods to commemorate my getting stuck.

Anyway, get out I did, the only damage was to my pride.

While waiting for the tow, I was looking at the sky and saw the waning half moon in a brilliantly clear blue sky framed by trees, which, were I to rationalize the larger implications of why the Universe wanted me stuck, might have been to see that sight.

It doesn’t come across that well in this photo, but the little white smudge in the center of the blue is actually the waning half moon. It was quite beautiful in person.

by Madhava Gosh at May 30, 2008 02:31 PM

May 29, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : 'A' is for....

If you know all this off by heart, you can skip today's blog. But there are still some people left on earth that don't know the answer to this much-asked question. Plus I've dug up some more tidbits of interest about my favourite spice.

Toni from Brisbane writes:

"Could you please explain what is asafoetida powder?"

asafetida:

Asafetida (also spelled asafoetida) is the aromatic resin from the root of the giant fennel, Ferula asafoetida. It is also known as hing, and is extracted from the stems of the giant perennial plants that grow wild in Central Asia, especially Northern Iran and Afghanistan. Thus it is known as an oleo-resin exudate.

In the spring, when the plant is about to bloom, the stems and roots are cut. Milky resin exudes from the cut surface and is scraped off. The gummy resin is sun-dried into a solid mass that is then sold in solid, wax-like pieces. Most raw asafetida is sent to India for further processing and sale, mostly in the convenient powdered form.

flowering asafetida:

Asafetida has been held in great esteem among indigenous medicines from the earliest times in India. It is highly reputed as a drug to expel wind from the stomach, and to counteract spasmodic disorders. Asafetida is also a digestive agent and is used, among other things, for alleviating toothache and as an antidote for opium.

In Thailand it is used to aid babies' digestion and is smeared on the child's stomach in an alcohol tincture known as "mahahing".

John C Duval reported in 1936 that the odor of asafetida is attractive to the wolf, a matter of common knowledge, he says, along the Texas/Mexico border.

Haitian black-magic rituals often would include asafetida to keep the evil spirits at bay.

It was familiar in the early Mediterranean, having come by land across Iran, and was popular in any self-respecting Classical kitchen. Though it is generally forgotten now in Europe, it is still widely used in India (commonly known there as hing).

Some sources say that it emerged into Europe from a conquering expedition of Alexander the Great, who after returning from a trip to north-eastern Persia (modern Afghanistan), thought they had found a plant almost identical to the famed silphium of Cyrene in north Africa. Nevertheless, it could be substituted for silphium in cooking, which was fortunate, because a few decades after Dioscorides time, the true silphium of Cyrene went extinct, and Asafoetida gained in popularity, by physicians as well as cooks.

After the Roman Empire fell, until the 16th century, asafoetida was rare in Europe, and if ever encountered, is was viewed as a medicine.

"If used in cookery, it would ruin every dish because of its dreadful smell," asserted García de Orta's European guest.

"Nonsense", García replies, "nothing is more widely used in every part of India, both in medicine and in cookery. All the Hindus who can afford it buy it to add to their food. The rich Brahmins, and all the Hindus who are vegetarian, eat a lot of it. They add it to their vegetables and herbs, and first rubbing the cooking pot with it: it is seasoning, sauce, and condiment in every dish they eat".

In the days of Moghul aristocracy in India, the court singers of Agra and Delhi would wake before dawn and eat a spoonful of asafetida with butter to enhance their singing voice before practicing on the banks of the Yamuna river.

gimme more:

Asafetida is also excellent for settling flatulence and is prescribed by Indian herbalists for respiratory problems like whooping cough and asthma.

Due to the presence of sulphur compounds, raw asafetida has a distinctive pungent aroma. To cook with asafetida, small quantities of the powdered form are sauteed in a little slightly-hot oil or ghee, before adding to a variety of savoury dishes, adding a delicious flavour reminiscent of a mixture of shallots and garlic.

da yellow stuff:

I always uses the mild yellow asafetida powder and not the grey variety. All my recipes calling for asafetida were tested using this yellow variety. If using other types, reduce the quantity to between a quarter and a half of the suggested amount. Asafetida is available at Indian grocers and specialty stores.

by Kurma at May 29, 2008 06:48 PM

May 28, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : Spekky for Brekky

Speculation in the kitchen can be a disaster or it can be a pleasurable event, depending on one's level of competency. While you salivate over the picture below, let me explain by way of an example:

If you want to learn piano, you need to practice the authorised lessons of an highly qualified teacher. If you think you can start composing piano concertos in your first few months, you will fail.

kurma 1:

Similarly, if you want to become a competent cook, you must follow recipes, constantly, regularly, until you become very experienced. When you reach a steady level of competence, then, and only then, should you make up recipes. If you do, those made-up recipes will be based on sound kitchen principles.

I know that some of you will not agree with this perspective. I meet many such persons at my cookery classes who admit to never following recipes. Okay, they may pull it off sometimes, but sometimes they will fail. And their cookery may never be extra-special.

Ok, I guess you are not surprised in hearing this viewpoint, since I write cookbooks. Some people are incorrigible speculators, and you can't teach an old kitchen dog new tricks. But I sincerely offer this advice to any beginner who really wants to become an expert cook.

Yesterday I whipped up a quickie for breakfast with what immediately was in arms reach in the kitchen. There are no exact amounts, but as explained above, if you understand the principles of cookery, you can (as I did) write a recipe on the spot.

a breakfast of champions:

I toasted a couple of slices of my homemade sourdough bread.

Then I heated a tablespoon of olive oil in a wok, and dropped in a couple handfuls of cubed organic tofu.

After the tofu turned a little golden on it's edges, I sliced up a couple of Bequinho chilis (see yesterday's blog) and tossed them in. Then a sprinkle of yellow asafetida, followed by a generous grinding of mixed peppercorns (freeze-dried green, pink, and black Malabar). On top of that I threw in two very ripe, chopped organic trellis tomatoes, and allowed them to break down a bit.

Finally, I chopped some fine stalks of fresh coriander (I had used the leaves the day before), a smidge of raw sugar, a trace of ground black salt and some ground rock salt. Onto the toast, some chanting of Vedic hymns and the famed Maha Mantra to sanctify the offering, and it was ready.

Very simple, of course, but very nice. You could replace the tofu with panir, or baked ricotta, or haloumi.

Cooking breakfast can be a great pleasure, especially if you can get yourself in a joyous, appreciative frame of mind. Then the eating part can be all the more rich and rewarding. Yum!!

by Kurma at May 28, 2008 09:14 PM

KC & Ecological Awareness : On Biology and Spiritual Realization


A great lecture was given a few months ago in San Diego on “Biology and Spiriutal Realization.”  To watch it click here.

by environmentkrishna at May 28, 2008 06:00 AM

May 26, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : Chilis Galore

One of the highlights of last week's travels was some on-the-spot training in chili identification.

While at Mangrove Mountain I met up with John Leone, a 'chili head' extraordinaire. He gave me a beautiful collection of chilies, all picked fresh from his extensive collection.

I took down the names and some interesting information, as well as photographing them.

Every chili in these photos is different. John has a website, and he sells seeds. If you are a serious chili aficionado, I suggest you check it out.

chili collection #1:

Just in case you cannot read my writing, here are their names.

For the photo above, all names left to right.

Top Row: Rocoto Peron, Manzano Orange, Manzano Red. Second Row: Naga Morich, Aussie Black, Royal Black. Third Row: Burkina, Scotch Bonnet, Peruvian Chinense. Fourth Row: Aji Cristal, Aji Amarillo. Fifth Row: Aji Habañero, tiny Bolivian Chacoense. Bottom Row: Siam #1 and #2, Eximium, Bishop's Crown

The chili heat identification scale is called the Scoville Scale. It is abbreviated as SHU (Scoville Heat Units). However chili heat is more commonly identified on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being blisteringly hot. I guess 1 Scoville is so many tens or hundreds of SHU sub-units. I forgot to ask John.

The chilies above range from searingly hot to mild. The hottest one above is the Naga Morich, an astonishing 1,000,000 SHU! It is one of the hottest on the planet.

Wikipedia has this to say:

"The Bhut Jolokia (also known as Naga Jolokia, Ghost Chili, Ghost Pepper, Naga Morich) is a chili pepper that grows in northeastern India (Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur), Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. In 2006, it was confirmed by Guinness World Records to be the hottest chili in the world, displacing the Red Savina."

I first tasted Aji and Rocoto in Peru. While in Cusco I was served a vegetarian pizza with what appeared to be red capsicum on top; it was fresh unseeded Rocoto. My mouth was burning for half an hour. And I used to grow the Peruvian Chinense in my garden in Perth.

chili collection #2:

The chilis above are described as follows, clockwise from top left: Bequinho (Brazil), Brazil, Peruvian Orange, Maraba Yellow (Peru). And that's John's business card in the centre.

habaneros:

The Habañeros above fascinated me. I had no idea there were so many varieties. Here's their description:

Top Row: Chocolate, Yellow, Paper Lantern Second Row: Lava Drop, New Mexican Suave Yellow, Peruvian White, White Bullet. Third Row: Caribbean Red, Red Savina, Tasmanian Red. Fourth Row: Costa Rica, Barbados, Standard Orange.

Out of all the Habañeros above, the Chocolate is the hottest, coming in at 450,000 SHU. The rest vary in heat down to 200,000 SHU. The New Mexico Suave is a mild 800.

I now have all these chilis spread out on trays, drying in my bedroom. I keep a respectful distance away from the Naga Morich.

Thus ends today's chili lesson. Visit John's website for some more information.

by Kurma at May 26, 2008 07:36 PM

May 25, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : The Warrandyte Wave

It's a crisp Sydney morning, and I'm recovering from a week of ecstatic teaching. I headed off a week ago for Satyananda Ashram in the forests of Mangrove mountain. The karma yogis and Sanyasis there were a pleasure to work with - disciplined, hard-working and kind. My photo report of that event is lower down this page.

After a day back in Sydney to re-pack, I flew off to Melbourne, spending the night in my all-time favourite abode, the beautiful Melbourne Hare Krishna Temple in Albert Park. It was an icy 2 degrees as the taxi came to pick me up for my drive to Warrandyte and the home of Alison (below, centre) for an ebullient all-girl cookery event organised by the incorrigible Narelle (below, to Alison's left)

doing the warrandye wave:

This is what we cooked, and ate.

The South Asian Shared Table

Classic Basmati Rice Pulao Hearty Split Mung Dal with Seasonal Vegetables Served with Grilled Turkish Bread Seared Chili Panir Cheese Steaks on a Bed of Sweet Potato Mash Served with Balsamic-drenched Fresh Rocket Salad Mild Karnataka-style Poriyal of Cauliflower, Potato and Peas Served with Flame-toasted Pappadams, Lemon Wedges & Yogurt Malaysian Curry Puffs Served with Hot and Sweet Tomato Chutney Creamy Cardamom-infused Condensed Yogurt Dessert With Pistachios & Saffron Syrup (Shrikhand)

proud panir:

Our spicy chili-seared fresh panir steaks made from rich unpasteurised milk was one of many delights. Served on a bed of buttery sweet-potato mash and balsamic-drenched peppery wild rocket leaves, it was a taste sensation.

But wait - there's more. This was only one of 5 days of kitchen bliss...

by Kurma at May 25, 2008 11:09 PM

Kurma das, Australia : Kurma Returns to Canberra

Teaching in Australia's National Capital Canberra has been a regular adventure for many years. This visit marked the 30th birthday of my host Korinne (below, with baby Archer). She had invited guests from as far away as Papua-New Guinea, so it was an eagerly awaited event.

A day at Korinne's:

A generous sprinkling of men in the class changed the dynamics from my usual all-female extravaganzas. Here Jason pounds the Thai red curry paste.

Jason pounds the paste:

Fennel-scented doughnuts in berry-laced Greek yogurt was the grand finale, rendering us all prostrate for a good few hours.

Luscious berry malpoura:

I managed to get to the bus depot in time for my express bus trip back to Sydney.

by Kurma at May 25, 2008 11:08 PM

Kurma das, Australia : Three Days at Mangrove Mountain

The kitchens of the peaceful Satyananda Ashram were a'flurry with all sounds culinary for my three-day cooking workshops. Here's our crew for day one.

Day #1 at Satyananda Yoga:

We were cooking for an evening meal of 60 hungry karma-yogis, hence our generous salad leaf quantities.

Gyanmurti and Leela's Giant Rocket:

Our Syrian pomegranate and walnut dip required roasted red peppers, here expertly blackened over a naked flame by Govinda and Leela.

Leela and Govinda roast peppers:

Peeling oven-roasted peanuts for the North-Indian Cabbage Salad is fun when there's a few of you doing it at once.

peanut duty:

Julie (second from left) brought a group of friends from Berry, a small town in New South Wales, to help with cut-up duties.

The Berry Babes:

Jacqui baked some phenomenal loaves of bread.

Jacqui's bread:

The kitchen was a pleasure to cook in. This giant Brat Pan, here attended to by Veda, was the ideal vessel to prepare cashew and cardamom-laced carrot halava, which cooked to perfection in record time.

Veda stirs the Carrot Halava:

A splendid time was had by all!

by Kurma at May 25, 2008 11:07 PM

Madhava Ghosh, New Vrndavan : New Vraja Dhama Cow Protection Conference


There was a Cow Conference recently in Hungary at the New Vraja Dhama farm. This is a topic I have a keen interest in. Unfortunately for me, the info coming out of it is all podcasts which with dialup it isn’t practical for me.

Is anyone willing to listen them on my behalf and give me an executive summary or even a general sense of it? I would really appreciate that.

Or listen and tell me which one would be the best to listen to if I could only listen to one of them. I have to let it download all night so I could do it but with so many I would like to listen to the one that would best capture the spirit of it.

Cow Protection Conference

21 May: Cow Protection

Sick & Aging Cows

22 May: Cow Protection Conference

by Madhava Gosh at May 25, 2008 11:42 AM

May 24, 2008

KC & Ecological Awareness : Excerpt from Divine Nature


Worldview and Culture

The pattern that emerged in medieval and Renaissance Europe- a progressively more godless cosmology leading to a destructive civilization based on the maximum exploitation of matter- was described five thousand years ago in the Bhagavad Gita.

The Gita (16.8,9,11) states, “They say that this world is unreal, with no foundation, no God in control…Following such conclusions, the demoniac, who are lost to themselves and who have no intelligence, engage in unbeneficial, horrible acts meant to destroy the world…They believe that to gratify the senses is the prime necessity of human civilization.”

Some modern observers echo the Gita’s words.  Pitirim Sorokin, former chairman of Howard University’s department of sociology, described the civilization that rose out of Renaissance Europe’s age of scientific discovery as “sensate.”  Sensate culture, he explained, “is based upon the ultimate principle that…beyond the reality and values which we can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste there is no other reality and no real values.”

Sorokin said that the senstae society “intensely cultivates scientific knowledge of the physical and biological properties of sensory reality.”  He adds, “Despite its lip service to the values of the Kingdom of God, it cares mainly about the sensory values of wealth, health, bodily comfort, sensual pleasures, and lust for power and fame.  Its dominant ethic is invariably utilitarian and hedonistic.”  The inevitable result, Sorokin said, is the exceptional violence he have experienced in the twentieth century.  And we may include in this category violence against the planet itself, brought on by the “increasing destructiveness of the morally irresponsible, sensate scientific achievements…invented and continuously perfected by the sensate scientists.”

-Divine Nature by Micheal A. Cremo & Mukunda Goswami (p70)

by environmentkrishna at May 24, 2008 06:00 AM

May 23, 2008

Madhava Ghosh, New Vrndavan : Oprah Test Drives a Vegan Diet


“Who’s Oprah ?” say people who have

a.) lived in a cave for the last twenty years
b.) been oblivious to the mass media due to ecstatic symptoms
c.) have never had an informal talk with an average American woman.

To those I say, she is the Queen of day time television and one of the richest women in America — a major opinion maker.

Oprah's Blog

In her book Quantum Wellness, best-selling author and spiritual counselor Kathy Freston suggests trying a 21-day cleanse as a way to jump-start an inner makeover. Oprah has decided to give it a try! The plan is to eliminate caffeine, sugar, alcohol, gluten and animal products from your diet for up to 21 days. Read along as Oprah blogs for three weeks about the highs and lows of her experience.

Week One: Sunday
There was a passage in Kathy Freston’s book that so related to me, I thought for a moment she was talking about me.

In the passage, Kathy talks about an overweight friend who would gain and lose. She didn’t conquer the weight issue until she became a “conscious” eater.

Conscious eater. That struck a nerve. I had recently come to the conclusion that after spending weeks reading and rereading A New Earth and being on line with Eckhart Tolle that bringing a higher level of awareness to my eating was the solution I’d been avoiding. My idea of a conscious eater, however, was not quite the same as Kathy’s.

I thought it meant not allowing yourself to eat emotionally and filling the void of anxiety with food, as I’ve struggled with for years. I thought it meant taking your time, making healthy choices and chewing slowly—being conscious of every bite and not scarfing down a meal and then thinking about the next one.

That is one level of consciousness. But what she talks about in her book is a higher level. She speaks of “spiritual integrity.” How can you say you’re trying to spiritually evolve, without even a thought about what happens to the animals whose lives are sacrificed in the name of gluttony?

So this 21-day cleanse gives me a chance to think about it differently and see what my attachments are to certain kinds of foods—and what I’m willing to do to change.

Don’t know if I’m going to feel better or worse, but I’m willing to try to see if my body at least feels differently.

So this first day wasn’t hard at all. For breakfast, I had steel-cut oatmeal with fresh blueberries, strawberries, chopped walnuts and a splash of soy milk and some agave nectar. For lunch, chunky mushroom soup with wild rice and pecans. As a snack, a handful of roasted almonds. And for dinner, a baked potato drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper with a salad of shredded lettuce, cranberries, pine nuts and tiny orange slices with a vinegar and oil dressing.

Very satisfying. Day 1 also started with the meditation mantra that Kathy suggests in her book. I’m ready!

— Oprah

by Madhava Gosh at May 23, 2008 11:42 AM

May 22, 2008

Kurma das, Australia : Curry Leaf-scented Two-minute Blog Noodles

I'm back from teaching in Mangrove Mountain. I'll publish a photo essay on that next week. I'm unpacking and then re-packing for a weekend of classes in Melbourne and Canberra.

No time to serve up a full-meal posting. So here's a two-minute blog I had waiting in the cupboard for a quick snack.

beautiful curry leaves:

Pramod from South India writes:

"Hello Kurma. Regarding growing curry leaves: I live in the western coast of southern India. Typical to any humid tropical region we get plenty of rains during monsoon and bright Sun round the year. The soil is mostly sublaterate which is not very good for gowing anything except Coconuts and Banana.

And the humus does not develop very well leading to the leaching of manure or any other input. In spite of this adverse condition we have a lot of Curry leaf plants (you call them trees!). In my parents' backyard they used to come up on their own (I mean wherever the roots of other curry leaf plants are exposed above the mud). In my front yard there are a few plants. They need a lot of Sun and moist soil.

As you have mentioned it is better to snip off the berries so that the plant does not dry up. In my case I start snipping the flowers themselves (take caution - do not cut all the flowers in the plant at the same time. I did that once and the plant went into "coma"; then it took quite sometime for the plant to recuperate).

As one of your readers mentioned, it is useful to give rice water to the plants; along with it, my mother says, feeding very thin buttermilk to enhances the aroma in the leaves. In my observation, the plant becomes bare during our winter, then with the onset of summer it turn lush again.

Also, during winter the plant is attacked by a mite that leaves tiny cottony deposits on the leaves. Which is again harmful for the growth of the plant (we don't do anything, it disappears after sometime on its own). For the trunk to gain bulk and leaves/branches to increase in number - break the tip of the branch now and then; breaking the branch just at the point where leaves start growing also helps.

The plant can also be grown in pots or polythene bags (As Bangaloreans do, due to lack of good soil or land). But when the root gets suffocated you may have to repot or transplant in a moist piece of land.

We have two varieties of Curry Leaf plants. One is wild variety with thick, darkish green leaves available in markets; but these lack in fragrance. The ones which we grow at home gardens have thin, light green leaves and these are really fragrant. Kurma, the picture of a single frond of leaves in your page looks like that of a wild variety."

by Kurma at May 22, 2008 06:35 AM

May 21, 2008

Club 108, New Vrndavan, USA : The Meat-Guzzler

HG Gauranga Kishore Prabhu, preacher extraordinare, is taking Krsna, progressive outreach style, to the hearts and minds of the students of Stanford University, and you can check out the website for Conscious SF (http://conscioussf.com/) for all the latest and greatest.

From their website, also check out this article from the New York Times called "Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler", which details the immense environmental and economic footprint resulting from the livestock industry.

It's actually not a secret that the livestock industry has as much, if not more, of a negative effect on the delicate balance of our ecosystems than does the oil industry. When will the big guns like Al Gore and the Sierra Club put vegetarianism on the list of practical and positive things anyone can do to help ease the burden on Mother Earth?

The clock continues to tick, and we're not just talking about the microwave timers for the TV dinners. This is a big chance for ISKCON and all spiritually-minded vegetarians to get ahead of the curve and show a ready-and-waiting world that we have big solutions for the big problems of our time.

by Club 108 (noreply@blogger.com) at May 21, 2008 08:00 AM