viernes, 11 de junio de 2010

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Panihati Festival - This Sunday!!!



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"Planet ISKCON" - 27 new articles

  1. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 11 June 2010--Millions of Times Better Than Sex--and--God Conscious Without Religious Dogma?
  2. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.8.1-17 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 2
  3. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.7.12-58 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 1
  4. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Photos from Vyasa Puja 2008
  5. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.7.11 Mayavadis by Nature, Need to be Attentive
  6. H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – 1.7.10 Atmarama Verse
  7. Japa Group: The Importance of Chanting
  8. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Aniruddha Prabhu
  9. Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Don't be a cheater
  10. Kirtans in Oxford, UK: 24 Hour Kirtan in Birmingham
  11. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: '463' from The Yellow Submarine
  12. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Little Drops of Nectar: The Gayatri' from The Yellow Submarine
  13. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'The Sastras and My Little Life' from The Yellow Submarine
  14. H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'At the Yamuna' from The Yellow Submarine
  15. Kurma dasa, AU: Kurma in Russia
  16. Kripamoya dasa, UK: Preachers of hatred urge killings of reformist Muslims
  17. ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Panihati Festival - This Sunday!!!
  18. H.H. Sivarama Swami: India moves to make it easier for couples to divorce
  19. Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Accepting What Is Within Reach
  20. H.H. Sivarama Swami: Bhakta Heeren, London, asks
  21. Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: Are There Dangers In Being "Spiritual But Not Religious?"
  22. Mayapur Online: Mamgacchi - More nectar
  23. H.H. Sivarama Swami
  24. H.H. Bhakti Caitanya Swami: More photo’s of the Russian tour
  25. Jaya Kesava Das, USA: LONG BREAK.
  26. Gouranga TV: Aindra Hare Krishna Kirtan – Vrindavan – 1-11-2009 Part 2/6
  27. Japa Group: Don't Get Distracted
  28. More Recent Articles
  29. Search Planet ISKCON

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Friday 11 June 2010--Millions of Times Better Than Sex--and--God Conscious Without Religious Dogma?

In this material world sex is accepted universally as the ultimate pleasure. Sigmund Freud theorized that everything we do in this material world is based around sex and he was right So how is it that a Krishna conscious person can derive unlimited pleasure, energy, and satisfaction by completely focusing all of his energy on Krishna and totally giving...

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.8.1-17 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 2

SB 01.08.01-17_Bhagavatam’s Intro To Krishna 2_2005

Lecture – SB 1.8.1-17 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 2 – 2005 Helsinki

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.7.12-58 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 1

SB 01.07.12-58_Bhagavatam’s Intro To Krishna 1_2005

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.12-58 Bhagavatam’s Intro to Krishna 1 – 2005 Helsinki

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Photos from Vyasa Puja 2008

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 1.7.11 Mayavadis by Nature, Need to be Attentive

SB 01.07.11_Mayavadis By Nature, Need To Be Attentive_2005

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.11 Mayavadis by Nature, Need to be Attentive 2005

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – 1.7.10 Atmarama Verse

SB 01.07.10_Atmarama Verse_2005

Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.10 Atmarama Verse 2005 Helsinki

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Japa Group: The Importance of Chanting


Today I was listening to a very nice lecture by Sesa dasa from Alachua....he was expressing that chanting the Hare Krsna mantra is the basis of everything and that by chanting with devotion, Krsna arranges so many things for us - this is His reciprocation with His dear devotee. We simply need to perform this sacrifice of chanting the Hare Krsna mantra, and by such sacrifice, the Lord can allow us to make progress through the 3 stages namely Namaparadha, Namabhasa and Suddha Nama.


There is a nice quote from Srila Prabhupada explaining these three stages:

"There are three stages in chanting the holy name of the Lord. The first stage is the offensive chanting of the holy name, and the second is the reflective stage of chanting the holy name. The third stage is the offenseless chanting of the holy name of the Lord. In the second stage only, the stage of reflection, between the offensive and offenseless stages, one automatically attains the stage of emancipation. And in the offenseless stage, one actually enters into the kingdom of God, although physically he may apparently be within the material world. To attain the offenseless stage, one must be on guard in the following manner.[guard against the ten offenses of chanting]"

Purport Srimad Bhagavatam 2.2.30
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Aniruddha Prabhu

Srimad Bhagavatam 11.21.17 - To spread Krsna consciousness effectively devotees must know how to apply devotional principles appropriately.

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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Don't be a cheater

So Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu made one condition [when excusing Jagai and Madhai], that "Your life is full of sinful activities. So if you simply promise that 'I shall not do anymore,' then I can accept you." So they said, "Sir, I'll not do. We'll not do anymore." This is required. When you are initiated, you promise "No illicit sex, no intoxication, no meat-eating, no gambling." And if you do privately all these things, then what kind of man you are? Don't be cheater. Be plain. When you promise that "We shall not do these things," don't do it again. Then you remain in goodness. That's all. Nobody can disturb you. And if you pollute yourself silently, then this goodness will go on. So this is the warning. Once you are initiated on the promise that you shall not do these all nonsense, then you remain perfectly in goodness. Mam eva ye prapadyante mayam etam taranti. Maya cannot do anything. But if you cheat yourself, cheat your spiritual master, cheat God, then you will be cheated by maya.

>From Srila Prabhupada's lecture on Srimad-Bhagavatam 1.3.26, Los Angeles, October 1, 1972

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Kirtans in Oxford, UK: 24 Hour Kirtan in Birmingham

About ten of us Oxfordian chanters went up to Birmingham at the weekend to take part in the eleventh, annual 24 hour kirtan at the Bala temple. We didn't stay the full stint, but it was a really wonderful experience just to sit and chant for seven hours straight. Not just sitting, either - quite a lot of dancing happened too, as we all became swept up in the blissful atmosphere produced by the chanting.

Eleven years ago, these events started as very small affairs, with a small core of dedicated chanters - now they have grown and there were over five thousand people there, this last weekend, taking part. They came from all over the country, many staying in accomodation overnight, so as to stay the whole two days.

The Mayapuris - an up and coming new kirtan group were there, and led kirtans in many different moods. And Sachinandana Swami - a German kirtaniya - was an inspiring speaker and kirtan leader also. A great event altogether, and I'll try in future to let you know about these beforehand so you can come also, if you've a mind! They are a perfect way to recharge one's spiritual batteries.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: '463' from The Yellow Submarine

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

4:14 A.M.

I slept alright and woke with the alarm at 2:30. But I immediately had a headache and had to take medicine. Then while walking in the room my ankle collapsed, and I fell to the floor. I didn’t sustain any injuries, but it was a shock. With the headache my chanting was slow, and I haven’t chanted eight rounds so far. I’ll be a little bit behind on my writing, but everything will get done alright. My chanting was not clear but with the pressure of pain and distraction. I’ve been reading Japa Transformations and enjoying the concentration on harinama and the sincerity of the effort. But even there, there is frequent mention of my not doing the best. But I forgive myself and pray to harinama. I like the book, and I’m proofreading it for mistakes. This morning because I’m a little bit behind I have to calm down and not get feverish. Just rest assured that everything will get done by the end of the day. Use your time well, and you’ll come out on top.

A crippled harinama
but chanting nonetheless,
gives life to the morning.
The writing schedule is
behind, but that too will
catch up. Krishna gives me
time and empowerment
to make my quotas,
and I should not forget
to thank Him for that.
“Damaged goods” is my
product today, but I
deliver it with hopes He
will receive it and give
me credit. Even on game
hampered days, the holy
names reign supreme
so long as you can
pass the syllables through
your mind and sincerely
try to pray to Radha
and Krishna, your worshipable
Lords, who stand on your
altar.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'Little Drops of Nectar: The Gayatri' from The Yellow Submarine

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Prabhupada smaranam

He is very serious. It is an internal meditation. He is not in this world. This is a pictorial representation of the boons promised to one who chants the gayatri mantras purely. It shows the intimacy one gains with Krishna and how gayatri helps one go back to Godhead. This is one of several photos that shows Prabhupada chanting gayatri without covering the thread with his hand or cloth. This disproves the ISKCON rumor that if you don’t cover your hand when you chant gayatri, the demigods will become envious.

Prabhupada first gave second initiation and gayatri mantra to his disciples in May 1968, in the storefront temple in Boston. At first he said that women did not receive gayatri mantra and second initiation. This was a policy of the Gaudiya Matha. But Govinda dasi, who was serving along with her husband Gaurasundara as Prabhupada’s servant, protested and cried profuse tears in front of him. At first she boycotted the ceremony and stayed in Prabhupada’s apartment. But then she could not bear the separation and ran ten blocks nonstop to the temple to be with him. Prabhupada relented and allowed women to take second initiation, but he did not give them the sacred thread. Some of Prabhupada’s godbrothers and smarta-brahmanas in India criticized Prabhupada for giving second initiation to women. Prabhupada defended his policy of preaching according to time and place and gave proof of its bona fide nature when writing in the Srimad-Bhagavatam translation where Narada is teaching Dhruva Maharaja to practice “in consideration of place, time and attendant conveniences and inconveniences.” (Bhag. 4.8.54.) Prabhupada writes in his purport as follows: “Those who are not actually in the line of acaryas, or who personally have no knowledge of how to act in the role of acarya, unnecessarily criticize the activities of the ISKCON movement in countries outside of India. The fact is that such critics cannot do anything personally to spread Krishna consciousness. If someone does go and preach, taking all risks and allowing all considerations for time and place, it might be that there are changes in the manner of worship, but that is not at all faulty according to sastra. Srimad Viraraghava Acarya, an acarya in the disciplic succession of the Ramanuja Sampradaya, has remarked in his commentary that candalas, or conditioned souls who are born in lower than sudra families, can also be initiated according to circumstances. The formalities may be slightly changed here and there to make them Vaisnavas.” (Bhag. 2.8.54, purport)

There are seven gayatri mantras and an extra one given to sannyasis. The first mantra is to the sun god, but we actually address Surya Narayana, who lives in the sun planet. The next two mantras, which are my favorite, are to the spiritual master. Prabhupada translates one as follows: “Let me try to understand my Spiritual Master, who is always in blissful Krishna consciousness.” I like the emphasis of trying to understand my spiritual master. It reminds me that he has an ultimate identity which may not be revealed to me, but I pray to know it. The next two mantras are to Lord Caitanya. The last two mantras are in a madhurya-lila-rasa and are addressed to Krishna, the lover of the gopis. “Let him be enlivened by the transcendental Cupid.” Here in this picture Srila Prabhupada is deeply absorbed in the gayatri mantras and one may use this example to induce ourselves to saying the mantras in all attention and seriousness.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'The Sastras and My Little Life' from The Yellow Submarine

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Lord Caitanya pumped
Svarupa Damodara for more
katha about Radharani.
He wanted to hear of the ecstatic
ornaments on Her body when
She is dealing with Krishna.
She is a milk maiden and
sometimes when She is taking a
jug of milk to sell, Krishna
blocks Her way and demands
a toll or He stops Her from
picking roses and says all the
flowers in Vrndavana belong
to Him. He moves to touch
Her body, and Radha is thrilled
and just wants Krishna to satisfy
Himself. But outwardly She acts angry and cries dry
tears. She places Her body in a threefold bending way
expressing timidity, and there
are specific Sanskrit terms
for all these moods and
poses of Radharani. It’s called kila-kincita when She
feigns anger and fear but
is inwardly pleased. Rupa
Goswami has analyzed all Her
maha-bhava in Ujjvala-nilamani,
and it’s beyond my comprehension. But I
get the general idea and
I’m pleased, just like all
of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
associates were pleased to
hear Svarupa Damodara
describe Her contradictory
behavior.

This morning I had a
headache during japa, and
it hampered my performance.
I couldn’t think of
Radharani or Svarupa Damodara.
And now I’m growing
too tired to carry on.

I’ve changed the time of
my daily walk to 5 P.M.
instead of 12:30 noon.
It’s cooler and better
for the walk. I
go as far as I’m able
before running out of breath
and aching my ankle.
It’s a pleasant time of day,
near snack and winding down
for night sleep. The sun is
still out as it’s two weeks before
the longest day of the year.
The neighborhood is safe and
I’m not afraid of muggers
although the thought is at
the back of my mind. We
passed joggers and dog-walkers
and they say, “Hello,
how are you?”

At snack time and
breakfast I hear more of
Caitanya-caritamrta, and Baladeva is
up to the part when Srivasa Thakur
is challenging Svarupa Damodara,
saying the opulence of the Goddess
of Fortune in Vaikuntha is greater
than in Vrndavana, where there are only
twigs and bushes and a few weeds.
We’ll see how Svarupa Damodara defeats
him, when he describes the
glories of Vraja. I’ll tell
you about it, and something
from the lunchtime Srimad–
Bhagavatam
where Sukadeva
Goswami is telling Maharaja
Pariksit about “Pure Devotional
Service: The Change of Heart,”
indicating that bhakti is
supreme.

I struggle to get the
journal done, and so far
He’s allowed me to
write about the pictures.
The poems are random
and taken from a
mixture of the sastra and my little life.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami: 'At the Yamuna' from The Yellow Submarine

www.sdgonline.org. SDGonline Daily updates

Free write

Modana mohana Mandir in the background.

Here a woman religiously dips in the sacred Yamuna River, the river Krishna played in when He advented in Vrndavana five thousand years ago. Nowadays the Yamuna is being polluted by industrial waste from New Delhi, but stalwart devotees still bathe in the waters. In the background is the skyline silhouette of the Madan-mohan Mandir which was constructed under the supervision of Sanatana Goswami almost five hundred years ago. There is also a well used by Sanatana which is near the temple. Also near here is the Kaliya Ghat and the waters where the poisonous serpent Kaliya used to reside. Krishna personally drove Kaliya from the Yamuna after dancing on his hoods. When Sanatana Goswami lived here he worshiped the Deity of Krishna. But he was so poor he could not make nice offerings of food to the Deity. Once the Deity spoke complainingly to Sanatana for not at least putting salt on the chapattis he offered to Him. Sanatana replied: “Sir, I am a poor mendicant and I can not obtain any salt, You will have to accept the chapattis as I offer Them.” The worship was so intimate that Sanatana and Krishna conversed, and Krishna submitted to Sanatana and accepted the chapattis without salt.

In the similar fashion to the way the woman is bathing in the Yamuna, the young gopis bathed near here and observed the vow to Goddess Katyayani, praying to her to get Krishna as their husband. One time they bathed without their clothes in water up to their neck, and Krishna came and took all their saris and would not give them back until they came out of the water and received them from His hand. He then in essence, accepted them as His wives and said in the future He would perform the rasa dance with them.

Although so-called modernization and commercial development of Vrndavana is changing it drastically from the garden-like atmosphere that pervaded when the Six Gosvamis lived there, the essence of Vraja can not be taken away, and sincere devotees continue to find the essence beneath the encroaching changes.

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Kurma dasa, AU: Kurma in Russia

Kurma Red Square:

Well, almost.

I was there, on three occasions. But alas, that was before my blogging days, and before I bought my first digital camera.

But the actual reason for today's blog is to remind you that many of the recipes from my very first cookbook 'Great Vegetarian Dishes' have been translated into Russian.

So if Russian is your mother-tongue, and you'd like to partake of this service, or you're just curious, click here.

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Kripamoya dasa, UK: Preachers of hatred urge killings of reformist Muslims

Last week 86 worshipping Muslims were massacred in two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan. It was the bloodiest event in this country for many years.

In a world which is rocked every day by the news of Muslims killing Muslims in some far off part of the world, this one event may not immediately alarm us, and it may be forgotten quickly. But these particular were not Shi’ites or Sunis, the two groups that are at war in Iraq. The 86 that died were all members of the Ahmadiya movement, a preaching movement which explains that jihad refers to the internal spiritual struggle, and that true religion must be expressed as love and consideration for others.

The Ahmadiya movement is very active in interfaith initiatives, and seeks to preach a different kind of Islam. For that reason the group invited us Vaishnavas to come and meet them last year and learn a little of their teachings.

Any deaths in the name of a religious cause are regrettable, but particularly so when the people killed are trying to promote peace and understanding. In this case, it appears that once again, the power of religious rhetoric from charismatic preachers has spawned hatred, injury and death.

For more on this massacre, and the group involved click here.


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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Panihati Festival - This Sunday!!!

This Sunday, Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple is very excited to announce that we will be celebrating our second Panihati festival at New Remua Dhama!

Panihati is located on the banks of the Ganges 10 miles North of Calcutta, in West Bengal India. It is the site of many wonderful spiritual pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His close personal associates. In this region at this time of year June, pre-monsoon it is so hot, often up in the mid-to-high 40 C. The most cooling of foods in such a temperature is yogurt, cool yogurt (dahi). This pastime of the Lord is about how the devotees pleased Lord Chaitanya and how the Lord reciprocated with the devotees in a very wonderful and pleasing festival called the Panihati Cida-Dadhi Mahotsav. (you can read more about the festival by clicking here)

Toronto's Hare Krishna Temple will be honoured to be hosting some very special VIPs! HH Jayapataka Swami, and HG Badahari das will be participating in the festival. This is the first visit HH Jayapataka Swami will be making to Toronto since July of 2008.

The festival will feature amazing kirtans, a lively discourse by HH Jayapataka Swami as well as a vegetarian feast including the famous Cida-Dadhi (chipped rice in yogurt)!

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: India moves to make it easier for couples to divorce

SRS: If you look at the statistics at the bottom you will note that ISKCON’s rate if divorce more resembles the USA than India.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10284416.stm

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Madhava Ghosh dasa, New Vrndavan, USA: Accepting What Is Within Reach

“And if you go materially, satisfy your hunger, this, that, this, that, this, that, oh, it is simply illusion. It will never be finished. Just like you are advanced in material prosperity than other country. Does it mean that you are satisfied? Why there are hippies? Why there are so many frustrated youngsters? The richest country in the world.

“That, this richness of material world, the rascals, they are following that “If we become like America and some industrial, we shall become happy.” That is rascaldom. Actual happiness is how you learn to love God. Then you get happy. That can be achieved without any material advancement. Anywhere you can have, without any expenditure, without any effort, without any education, without any knowledge. Simply chant Hare Krsna and you develop that love.”

Lecture Excerpt — Boston, May 5, 1969

“Why can we not be content with an ordinary, secret, personal happiness that does not need to be explained or justified? We feel guilty if we are not happy in some publically approved way, if we do not imagine that we are meeting some standard of happiness that is recognized by all. God gives us the gift and the capacity to make our own happiness out of our own situation. And it is not hard to be happy, simply by accepting what is within reach, and making of it what we can.”

Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander (New York: Image). p. 56.


Filed under: Thomas Merton
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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Bhakta Heeren, London, asks

“During japa how can we be conscious of the supremacy of Lord Krishna, as displayed by his universal form and thereby not risk getting into a sentimental feeling?”

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Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: Are There Dangers In Being "Spiritual But Not Religious?"

By John Blake, from CNN Living
June 4, 2010 1:28 p.m. EDT
Being
Being "spiritual but not religious" means you do not need a church or a community, some say. A beach will do.

(CNN)
-- "I'm spiritual but not religious."

It's a trendy phrase people often use to describe their belief that they don't need organized religion to live a life of faith.

But for Jesuit priest James Martin, the phrase also hints at something else: egotism.

"Being spiritual but not religious can lead to complacency and self-centeredness," says Martin, an editor at America, a national Catholic magazine based in New York City. "If it's just you and God in your room, and a religious community makes no demands on you, why help the poor?"

Religious debates erupt over everything from doctrine to fashion. Martin has jumped into a running debate over the "I'm spiritual but not religious" phrase.

The "I'm spiritual but not religious" community is growing so much that one pastor compared it to a movement. In a 2009 survey by the research firm LifeWay Christian Resources, 72 percent of millennials (18- to 29-year-olds) said they're "more spiritual than religious." The phrase is now so commonplace that it's spawned its own acronym ("I'm SBNR") and Facebook page: SBNR.org.

But what exactly does being "spiritual but not religious" mean, and could there be hidden dangers in living such a life?

Did you choose "Burger King Spirituality"?

Heather Cariou, a New York City-based author who calls herself spiritual instead of religious, doesn't think so. She's adopted a spirituality that blends Buddhism, Judaism and other beliefs.

"I don't need to define myself to any community by putting myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim," she says. "When I die, I believe all my accounting will be done to God, and that when I enter the eternal realm, I will not walk though a door with a label on it."

People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition.
--June-Ann Greeley, theology professor

BJ Gallagher, a Huffington Post blogger who writes about spirituality, says she's SBNR because organized religion inevitably degenerates into tussles over power, ego and money.

Gallagher tells a parable to illustrate her point:

"God and the devil were walking down a path one day when God spotted something sparkling by the side of the path. He picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand.

"Ah, Truth," he said.

"Here, give it to me," the devil said. "I'll organize it."

Gallagher says there's nothing wrong with people blending insights from different faith traditions to create what she calls a "Burger King Spirituality -- have it your way."

She disputes the notion that spiritual people shun being accountable to a community.

"Twelve-step people have a brilliant spiritual community that avoids all the pitfalls of organized religion," says Gallagher, author of "The Best Way Out is Always Through."

"Each recovering addict has a 'god of our own understanding,' and there are no priests or intermediaries between you and your god. It's a spiritual community that works.''

Nazli Ekim, who works in public relations in New York City, says calling herself spiritual instead of religious is her way of taking responsibility for herself.

Ekim was born in a Muslim family and raised in Istanbul, Turkey. She prayed to Allah every night, until she was 13 and had to take religion classes in high school.Then one day, she says she had to take charge of her own beliefs.

"I had this revelation that I bow to no one, and I've been spiritually a much happier person," says Ekim, who describers herself now as a Taoist, a religious practice from ancient China that emphasizes the unity of humanity and the universe.

"I make my own mistakes and take responsibility for them. I've lied, cheated, hurt people -- sometimes on purpose. Did I ever think I will burn in hell for all eternity? I didn't. Did I feel bad and made up for my mistakes? I certainly did, but not out of fear of God."

Going on a spiritual walkabout

The debate over being spiritual rather than religious is not just about semantics. It's about survival.

Numerous surveys show the number of Americans who do not identify themselves as religious has been increasing and likely will continue to grow.

A 2008 survey conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, dubbed these Americans who don't identify with any religion as "Nones."

"I don't need to define myself in a box labeled Baptist, or Catholic, or Muslim."
--Heather Cariou, a spiritual but not religious seeker

Seminaries, churches, mosques and other institutions will struggle for survival if they don't somehow convince future generations that being religious isn't so bad after all, religion scholars warn.

Jennifer Walters, dean of religious life at Smith College in Massachusetts, says there's a lot of good in old-time religion.

Religious communities excel at caring for members in difficult times, encouraging members to serve others and teaching religious practices that have been tested and wrestled with for centuries, Walters says.

"Hymn-singing, forms of prayer and worship, teachings about social justice and forgiveness -- all these things are valuable elements of religious wisdom," Walters says. "Piecing it together by yourself can be done, but with great difficulty."

Being a spiritual Lone Ranger fits the tenor of our times, says June-Ann Greeley, a theology and philosophy professor.

"Religion demands that we accord to human existence some absolutes and eternal truths, and in a post-modern culture, that becomes all but impossible," says Greeley, who teaches at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.

It's much easier for "spiritual" people to go on "spiritual walkabouts," Greeley says.

"People seem not to have the time nor the energy or interest to delve deeply into any one faith or religious tradition," Greeley says. "So they move through, collecting ideas and practices and tenets that most appeal to the self, but making no connections to groups or communities."

Being spiritual instead of religious may sound sophisticated, but the choice may ultimately come down to pettiness, says Martin, the Jesuit priest, who writes about the phrase in his book, "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost Everything)."

"Religion is hard," he says. "Sometimes it's just too much work. People don't feel like it. I have better things to do with my time. It's plain old laziness."
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Mayapur Online: Mamgacchi - More nectar

Hare Krishna! On 9 June is the auspicious Appearance Day of a great Vaishnava acarya Sri Vrindavan Das Thakura, the last initiated disciple of Lord Nityananda and author of Sri Caitanya Bhagavata. The Life and Pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are very elaborately described in Sri Caitanya Bhagavata. Sri Vrindavan Das Thakura took initiation at the age of 16. He was the dear-most disciple of Lord Nityananda.

read more

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H.H. Sivarama Swami

Cleansing the temple as clean as glass, always. Everyone remarks this that
our temples are very clean. Yes. Temple means must be very clean. The more
you cleanse the temple, the more your heart becomes cleansed.

- Srila Prabhupada

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H.H. Bhakti Caitanya Swami: More photo’s of the Russian tour

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Jaya Kesava Das, USA: LONG BREAK.

... But I'm still here.
Actually sometimes there's writers block; I'm no writer but I write on here for purification. Some realizations lately:
Its hard to delete a Facebook account, an illusion within the illusion. We're that stuck in here. Imagine deleting our material desires account; the desire for honor one, the self loathing one, the etc etc one.

Association of like minded people is a must. Association of not so like minded people will lead to unfavorable circumstances.

When Srila Prabhupada says that Krsna wants us back in the Spiritual World more than we want to get back there, he means just that.

There's a time for love, a time for healing, we can't go back and undo whats been done. But we still have a movement to move, and fear of making more mistakes shouldn't stop us from moving- remember Krsna is also there- more there when we can't see how he is.

It's all downhill from here.

All the stuff in the newspapers and television was there before, in different dress. And when this era is over, it'll have another change of clothes and return for another performance.

Srila Prabhupada is trying to teach us something, but we're made up of rebel cells- do exactly the opposite of what will help you and then put a philosophy behind you.

Lord Caitanya's moon is high in the sky- reach out and touch faith.

If all else fails, chant Hare Krsna; that shouldn't fail. If that fails, eat tons of prasadam.
This process is so strong that once having begun, one is forcibly dragged to ultimate success, kicking and screaming.
Until we hit love of Krsna, we should be cautious of every time, place, and circumstance.

Give this one lifetime to Krsna, tell the mind to beat it, eat it, stuff it :) and if you lose your mind in the process, GOOD!

Just some ramblings... do not try any of this at home. Its just a blog
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Gouranga TV: Aindra Hare Krishna Kirtan – Vrindavan – 1-11-2009 Part 2/6

Aindra Hare Krishna Kirtan – Vrindavan – 1-11-2009 Part 2/6

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Japa Group: Don't Get Distracted


When we become familiar with the Holy Names then this leaves us open to offenses....the seed offense is inattention which can be very hard to detect. Our mind may get into a habit of being distracted by many things....sounds, sights and by other means - that is why the environment that we chant in is so vital to our concentration.

If you are a householder then the main distraction could be the children, or finances playing on our mind or many other things....it recommended that we rise as early as possible to get the best Japa we can before the day starts and we are occupied with many duties. As a brahmacari the distraction may be in the mind...many services to perform or the day ahead on sankirtan or maybe we are in the habit of talking and chanting at the same time in the temple room.

Actually regardless of our ashram, the realisation about concentrated Japa needs to be there and we need to keep hearing about the importance of avoiding distraction.

Here is some very good advice given by Mahanidhi Swami:


It is often very difficult to keep one's attention on the holy name while chanting japa. This is because the mind is not trained to bear prolonged attention. It gets bored with the monotony of japa and runs to more pleasing things. By increasing one's interest or taste in japa, one will be able to chant attentively.

From the Art Of Chanting Hare Krsna by Mahanidhi Swami
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