lunes, 18 de julio de 2011

Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Long-Awaited Photo Essay








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"Planet ISKCON" - 31 new articles

  1. H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 18 July 2011--Enjoy by Serving the Supreme Enjoyer--and--Can a Devotee Make a Difference?
  2. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana
  3. Japa Group: Free From Distractions
  4. Japa Group: Japa Is Our Life
  5. H.H. Sivarama Swami: On the shaved heads and tucked up pony tails of initiated devotees
  6. Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: What to say when selling books
  7. Book Distribution News: What to say when selling books
  8. Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Walking to America, dancing for Krsna
  9. Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: query sent to me
  10. Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Long-Awaited Photo Essay
  11. Dandavats.com: The 4 stages of life…
  12. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  13. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  14. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  15. Dandavats.com: Do you wanting English editor?
  16. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  17. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  18. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  19. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  20. Srila Prabhupada's Letters
  21. Vraja Kishor, JP: Dancing as Singing is the best Yoga
  22. Dandavats.com: Ratha Yatra 2011 in Sweden - video
  23. Australian News: Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Online: A Treasure of Spiritual Knowledge
  24. Australian News: Enchanted Kirtan – the new CD
  25. Mayapur Online: Tourism Minister discusses Mayapur's new jetty
  26. Mayapur Online: Kadamba Season in Mayapur
  27. Dandavats.com: 10th Jubilee Eko Karavana Padayatra , 28. 6. - 15. 7. 2011, Goren - videos
  28. Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Why Water Is The New Oil
  29. ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu
  30. Dandavats.com: Hare Krishna New Orleans temple feast and music
  31. Gouranga TV: Kirtana
  32. More Recent Articles
  33. Search Planet ISKCON
  34. Prior Mailing Archive

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Monday 18 July 2011--Enjoy by Serving the Supreme Enjoyer--and--Can a Devotee Make a Difference?

A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course Monday 18 July 2011 The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, and His eternal consort, Srimati Radharani are enjoying transcendental pastimes in the topmost planet of the spiritual world, Sri Goloka Vrindavan. They are beckoning us to rejoin them. (Click on photo to see a larger image.) Our Mission: To help everyone awaken their original Krishna consciousness, which is eternal, full of knowledge and full of bliss. Such a global awakening will, in one stroke, solve all the problems of the world society bringing in a new era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for all. May that day, which the world so desperately needs, come very soon. We request you to participate in this mission by reviving your dormant Krishna consciousness and assisting us in spreading this science all over the world. Dedicated with love to ISKCON Founder-Acharya: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, our beloved spiritual master, and to you, our dear readers. Today's Thought: Enjoy by Serving the Supreme Enjoyer Uploaded from Bhaktivedanta Ashram, Austin, Texas USA Here in this material world we are trying to be the enjoyers of all that we survey. But the actual enjoyer of a particular thing is its owner, not others. Because we are unlawfully trying to enjoy what belongs to somebody else, we are criminals and are thus bound to remain imprisoned in the cycle of birth and death. How can we claim to be the owners of anything when we come into this world with nothing, and we also leave with nothing? It is Lord Krishna who is the real proprietor. Instead of trying to enjoy His property as our own, if we will instead engage everything in His service, we will give Him unlimited satisfaction. And then when He is satisfied, because He is the root of everything, we will become unlimitedly satisfied, just as when we water the root of a tree all the leaves and branches become watered. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Krishna's Devotees Enjoy Equally With Him http://www.backtohome.com/images/Krishna/Krishna_w_gopas.jpg Answers by Citing the Vedic Version: Question: Can a Devotee Make a Difference? I am someone who is interested in being of service to the world rather than to myself. This is something I have been involved in for years. From being a small child I was always interested in others before myself and when I look at what I really want it is for the world to be a better place. I love people, humanity and want to make a lasting difference. When people speak of attaining enlightenment I have always been clear I didn't come here for that in this lifetime. So my question is: Can I be out in the world making a difference as a Krishna devotee, or do I have to start withdrawing from the world to be His devotee? I am not interested in any spiritual practice that involves removing myself and withdrawing from the world. Thank you in advance for your answer. Z.R. Answer: Only a Devotee Can Make a Real Difference As it is said, Physician heal thyself. If you want to liberate others from misery, you must first become liberated yourself. You cannot liberate others without being liberated yourself. Any attempt to liberate others as long as you are not liberated with not be successful in spite of your good intentions. The Lord's devotee is the best welfare worker. He is a liberated soul who fully absorbs himself 24 hours daily in doing the highest welfare of delivering all of the illusioned souls, who are suffering endlessly in the cycle of birth and death, back to their original home in the all-blissful spiritual sky. He is the only person who is a making a real difference in this world. Others are simply maintaining status quo of birth, death, old age, and disease. So if you want to do real service for the world, you must become a devotee of Krishna. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Transcendental Resources: Receive the Special Blessings of Krishna Now you too can render the greatest service to the suffering humanity and attract the all-auspicious blessings of Lord Sri Krishna upon yourself and your family by assisting our mission. Lectures and Kirtans in Audio and Video: Link to High Definition Videos Link to Over 1,000 Lecture Audios Lecture-Travel Schedule for 2011 http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/schedule Have Questions or Need Further Guidance? Check out the resources at: http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com or write Sankarshan Das Adhikari at: sda@backtohome.com Get your copy today of the world's greatest self-realization guide book, Bhagavad-gita As It Is available at:http://www.ultimateselfrealization.com/store Know someone who could benefit from this? Forward it to them. Searchable archives of all of course material: http://www.sda-archives.com Receive Thought for the Day as an RSS feed:http://www.backtohome.com/rss.htm Unsubscribe or change your email address Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Daily_Thought Sankarshan Das Adhikari on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SDASITE Thought for the Day on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ultimate.Self.Realization Copyright 2005-2011 by Ultimate Self Realization.Com Distribution of this material is encouraged. Simply we request you to acknowledge where it is coming from with a link to our sign up page: http://www.backtohome.com Our records indicate that at requested to be enrolled to receive e-mails from the Ultimate Self Realization Course at: This request was made on: From the following IP address:

 
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

18/07/2011

"Simply chant "Radha-Krsna" and join with us. Those are the only alms we beg. Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant!

'All dangers will be gone when that Name is chanted,' says Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Chant, chant "Radha-Krsna!" Everyone chant!"...

(Radha-Krsna Bol)

...and all miseries will be gone when Their darsana we behold!

 
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Japa Group: Free From Distractions


Hare Krsna dear devotees, I hope your chanting has been peaceful and full of love. I was listening in a lecture from my Guru Maharaj H.H. Giriraj Swami that sometimes our chanting is distracted because we always think about what we are attached to. By having the thought that we are not the controller but the Lord is and that we are here to serve the Lord and offer Him our best - this makes us more focused and we may stop thinking of what we could do for ourselves while chanting.
This is a verse from the Sri Siksastakam to remind us of the right thinking while performing japa.

"My dear Lord, Your holy name bestows all auspiciousness upon the living entites. For their benefit You manifest Your innumerable names, such as "Krishna" and "Govinda". You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and out of causeless mercy You have not imposed any restrictions on the chanting and remembrance of such names. Nonethless I’m so unfortunate due to committing offenses that I have no attachment for Your holy name, which is so easily accessible and bestows all good fortune."

Wishing a very nice week.

your servant,

Aruna devi
 
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Japa Group: Japa Is Our Life


The cornerstone of our spiritual life is chanting attentive rounds each day....it's what inspires us on the spiritual platform and gives us the spiritual nourishment we need to face the frontline of the war on Maya.
 
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H.H. Sivarama Swami: On the shaved heads and tucked up pony tails of initiated devotees

 
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Bharatavarsa.net: Book distribution seminar: What to say when selling books

Gopinath Acharya das:

Deepak prabhu introduced me to Srila Prabhupada and said, "Oh, this is Gopinath Acharya das. He is one of our leading book distributors." So Srila Prabhupada was actually very interested; and he turned his head very regally, he looked at me and asked me what I said to sell the books. So I mumbled and fumbled something to the effect that, "Oh, Srila Prabhupada, I just tell them it's about yoga. They think it's about exercises and like that." Srila Prabhupada thought very pensively for 30 seconds or so and he said, "You should tell people that these books will solve the problems of life and help reduce the miseries of life."

>From Following Srila Prabhupada, DVD #6

PS More good news on the sankirtan van, we would like to thank Tara das (my long time friend) for donating $108. That makes it $4,208 we're gradually making it to the $20,000 goal.

your servant, Vijaya das

 
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Book Distribution News: What to say when selling books

Gopinath Acharya das:

Deepak prabhu introduced me to Srila Prabhupada and said, "Oh, this is Gopinath Acharya das. He is one of our leading book distributors." So Srila Prabhupada was actually very interested; and he turned his head very regally, he looked at me and asked me what I said to sell the books. So I mumbled and fumbled something to the effect that, "Oh, Srila Prabhupada, I just tell them it's about yoga. They think it's about exercises and like that." Srila Prabhupada thought very pensively for 30 seconds or so and he said, "You should tell people that these books will solve the problems of life and help reduce the miseries of life."

>From Following Srila Prabhupada, DVD #6

PS More good news on the sankirtan van, we would like to thank Tara das (my long time friend) for donating $108. That makes it $4,208 we're gradually making it to the $20,000 goal.

your servant, Vijaya das

 
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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Walking to America, dancing for Krsna

According to Jain philosophy, they should not use any vehicle from going this place to another place. They will go by walking. That is their principle. But we are not following that principle. We are preaching Krsna consciousness. Suppose if I have to come to your country, and if I say, "I will go by walking." (laughter) Then my life will be finished (laughter) before preaching. We are intelligent. Now we have got this aeroplane. Take advantage of and go in three hours to America, speedy. That is our policy. Therefore sometimes people criticize us that we are accepting all material things; still, we are condemning material civilization. They accuse us. But they do not know that we do not distinguish matter and spirit. Anything which is used for Krsna, that is spirit. This house, if you use for making a club, dancing club, that is material. And if this house is used for chanting Hare Krsna mantra and dancing, that is spiritual.

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Srimad-Bhagavatam 6.1.44 -- Los Angeles, July 25, 1975

 
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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: query sent to me

> i would like to ask You about your attitude > toward Aindra Prabhu and his Preaching. I seems here some controversy > between different groups of devotees abou his personality therefore I > would like ask You personaly.

My reply: I am not convinced of the paramahamsa status posthumously ascribed to him. Many great souls who dedicatedly served Srila Prabhupada's mission have now departed, and I am hesitant to exalt some over others based on some having expressed high realizations that may or may not have been real. Anyway, wherever Aindra Prabhu is now is between him and Krsna.

 
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Bhakti Lata, Alachua, USA: A Long-Awaited Photo Essay



My friend Balaram has been begging me to post my pictures from South India for the past seven months. I'm not kidding - 7 months. As a running joke, he has tried every trick in the book: random text messages, bribes, philosophical arguments, and just plain old-fashioned begging. 

Finally, this morning I just buckled down to edit and post them!  

Amazing how photos can transport us to another world, another time, another place. So I was quite stunned to find myself in India this morning. 

What pulled me there was the people; I experience the people in India as so unguarded. To lock eyes with total strangers is normal; laughter is full and rich; devotion is expressed openly. 

If you haven't noticed yet, my joy in photography is to capture the Incandescent Moment - the soft and unexpected moment of poetry. Just by being aware and observant, I get to distill the beauty and essence of life into an image. With photography, I get to view every moment of life as a work of art.  (You can view my Incandescent Moment photo essay here)

So thank you, Balaram, for encouraging me to revisit my surreal experience on the South India Yatra.

To conclude our joke, after I had posted this album, I asked him: "Okay, so where's my bribe money?"

He replied: "How can I pay you for something that is priceless?"

Bravo. Point taken.   


 






























Radhanath Swami with the leaders of the Ramanujacharya line

one of my favorite places in South India, the Corridor of a Thousand Pillars


Related Posts:
Countdown of Fate - "This is a screenshot of the countdown gadget on my Google homepage. I put it there about 120 days ago..."
River of Prayer - "I sit in the corridor of a thousand pillars in the Ramanatha temple in Rameshvaram..."
 
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Dandavats.com: The 4 stages of life…

Nimai das: The 4 stages of life (for most people), this about sums it up!!

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1968 July 17: "I am already informed about your Kirtana activities and its success. I think Krishna is dictating us to adopt this method for propagating the Sankirtana movement all over the different cities, towns and villages on the surface of the globe, because that was the prediction of Lord Caitanya."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1968 July 17: "Henceforward our plan should be to push Sankirtana and sell our publications. For books, Brahmananda, for magazine, Rayarama, for Sankirtana, Mukunda, and for suggestion, my humble self."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1973 July 17: "I understand you wish to remain as householders living outside the temple that is perfectly all right. However, as a householder you cannot go into the streets and hold sankirtana and sell our books as a means of maintenance. This is not a good idea for householders."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1973

 
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Dandavats.com: Do you wanting English editor?

Krsnendu das: Funny India Photos... It's a good one but the best sign ever was "Anglish taught here"

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1974 July 17: "All our sannyasis will be present there. You also come there as a regular sannyasi and take part. That is my desire. So long I am living I wish you all be strictly under my guidance without any fratricidal disagreement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1974 July 17: "Yes, it will be very nice if the Chinese boys come there to the Hong Kong center. That is our mission - that local boys take up interest in our movement."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1974

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1969 July 17: "There are many Vaisnava temples there, if any big temple is in difficulty financially, we can take charge of this temple and improve it and maintain it nicely. So if you know of any prospective temples where this could be arranged, please inform us."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1969

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1975 July 17: "We are selling 30-40 lakhs around the world so we shall expect at least sales in India of one lakh of Rupees per month. Did the Oberoi-Sheraton Hotel purchase our books? The hotels must purchase our books for putting in their rooms."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

 
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Srila Prabhupada's Letters

1975 July 17: "Expenditure must be stabilized and scrutinized. Nothing should be spent extravagantly. That you have to see. Do not bother my brain how to do it. I have put you in charge how to do it."
Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

 
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Vraja Kishor, JP: Dancing as Singing is the best Yoga

Bhagavat Purana – 11.5.32

kṛṣṇa-varṇaḿ tviṣākṛṣṇaḿ sāńgopāńgāstra-pārṣadam

yajñaiḥ sańkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi su-medhasaḥ

Always vibrating the sound “Krsna” – but with a golden color that is just the opposite of Krnsa – along with his associates, servants, weapons, and confidants… those who worship this sacrifice of chanting “Krsna” called SANKIRTAN are certainly the most intelligent people.

Bhagavat Purana 12.3.51

kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ

kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-bandhaḥ paraḿ vrajet

Kali-yuga [Our current historical epoch] is an ocean of problems, but there is certainly one very great thing about it: simply by doing KIRTAN one can get liberated and attain the supreme goal.

Bhagavat Purana 12.3.52

kṛte yad dhyāyato viṣṇuḿ tretāyāḿ yajato makhaiḥ

dvāpare paricaryāyāḿ kalau tad dhari-kīrtanāt

In Krita Yuga, by meditating on Vishnu. In Treta Yuga by worshipful sacrifices. In Dvapara Yuga by worship of the Deity. In Kali, all that, by HARI-KIRTAN.

Vishnu Purana 6.2.17 / Padma Purana Uttara:72.25 / Brihan Naradiya Purana 38.97

dhyāyan kṛte yajan yajñais tretāyāḿ dvāpare ‘rcayan

yad āpnoti tad āpnoti kalau sańkīrtya keśavam

By meditation in Krita Yuga. By sacrifice in Treta Yuga. By worship in Dvapara Yuga… whatever those can achieve is gotten in Kali Yuga by KESHAVA SANKIRTANA.

Bhagavat Purana 11.5.36

kaliḿ sabhājayanty āryā guṇa-jñāḥ sāra-bhāginaḥ

yatra sańkīrtanenaiva sarva-svārtho ‘bhilabhyate

Kali Yuga… very refined and advanced people who know the essence of good fortune worship this age of history, knowing well its great quality. In this age, SANKIRTANA certainly grants all goals of life.

 

 


 
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Dandavats.com: Ratha Yatra 2011 in Sweden - video

Jaya Radhe dasi: It started from Humle gården in Stockholm moving in slow procession through Stockholms streets to the end point Mynttorget in Gamla Stan. In this video young couple Vrinda and Visvambhar Seth are leading wonderful kirtan (devotional songs and dance) on Mynttorget

 
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Australian News: Bhaktivedanta Vedabase Online: A Treasure of Spiritual Knowledge

This Bhaktivedanta Archives website, still in Beta, is an online version of the English 2011 Bhaktivedanta VedaBase®. It was made in collaboration with Prahlāda Nṛsiṁha Dāsa and will be further developed by adding more lectures, conversations, and BBT books in English and other languages. We’ll also add more features, such as advanced search, categorization by subject, personal bookmarks, etc.

We envisage that this site, as a online library and research tool for studying Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books, will meet your VedaBase® online needs, and that you’ll benefit from its accessibility, comprehensiveness, and neat presentation.

Click here to view the Bhaktivedanta Vedabase website.

For more information about future updates, please subscribe to the Archives newsletter by clicking here

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Australian News: Enchanted Kirtan – the new CD

Enchanted Kirtan

Well friends, the much anticipated kirtan cd is about to be birthed!

Thanks to the amazing skills of our friend Ekendra who has patiently been recording our live gigs since October last year, we are now so close to completion.

Please ‘Like’ our page here and you will be the first to know when it is ready.

The enCHANTed kirtan band include: Lila Kirtana [vocals, harmonium and djembe], Mal Knights [flute, vocals and guitar], Peter Walkden-Brown [vocals and harmonium], Jo Kelly [vocals and harmonium], Elias Harmony [vocals, guitar and djembe], Narada Muni [lead guitar] and Mukunda [mrdanga].

Namaste,
Lila and Mal

Click here to find yourself at the Enchanted Kirtan facebook page

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Mayapur Online: Tourism Minister discusses Mayapur's new jetty

Yesterday the West Bengal tourism minister has visited us again and has set a deadline for the completion of the new jetty that is to be constructed. The minister's first stop was in Navadwip to discuss what the people of Navadwip would need from the tourism department to help increase and sustain the influx of tourists.

read more

 
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Mayapur Online: Kadamba Season in Mayapur

It is now the time of the year in Mayapur for all of our Kadamba trees to explode with flowers. When all of the Kadamba trees are in bloom the entirety of Mayapur smells of the intoxicating fragrance of these amazing flowers. All of the devotees will take advantage of this opportunity to make beautiful flower arrangements for Radha-Madhava using this unique round flower.

read more

 
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Dandavats.com: 10th Jubilee Eko Karavana Padayatra , 28. 6. - 15. 7. 2011, Goren - videos

Mukunda (das) SDHS (Ljubljana - SLO): Sri Sri NitaiGauraNataraj and Srila Prabhupada are showering Their mercy in NorthWest of Slovenia in Gorenjska region, where we find lots of fresh air, water, rivers, trees and Slovenian Alps are giving a beautiful backdrop

 
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Yoga of Ecology, Bhakta Chris, USA: Why Water Is The New Oil


From Julian Brookes at Rolling Stone

We take water for granted. And why not? We turn a tap and out it comes. But that's going to have to change, says author Alex Prud'homme. As he explains in a new book,The Ripple Effect, the basic problem is this: the quantity of water in the world is finite, but demand is everywhere on the rise. As oil was in the 20th century – the key resource, a focus of tension, even conflict – so water will be of the 21st, as states, countries, and industries compete over the ever-more-precious resource. So we need to figure out how to use it more sustainably. But that's not all. In the United States fresh water is under threat from new kinds of barely understood pollutants, from pesticides to pharmaceuticals, and from a last-century infrastructure of pipes, dams, levees, sewage plants that urgently needs upgrading.

All this and (much) more you'll learn fromThe Ripple Effect, a book that will forever change the way you think about what comes out of your faucet. (A film based on the book, titled Last Call at the Oasis, produced by the same folks who brought us An Inconvenient Truth and Food Inc., is in preparation.)Rolling Stone recently got Prud'homme on the phone to talk about thirst, waste and the fate of fresh water.

Reading the book, I was really struck by how fundamental water is to so many processes.

Right. Water is considered an “axis resource,” meaning it’s the resource that underlies all others. So whether you're building a computer chip, or growing crops, or generating power, all these things require lots of water. But there's only a finite amount of water, and now resources are butting up against each other.

At the same time, you point out, we waste a lot of water.

We're using our water supplies unsustainably. In America, we can turn the tap on at any time of day and get as much water as we want at any temperature for as long as we want. And, consequently, we take it for granted. Which is unusual: In most places in the world it's very difficult to get water on a regular basis.

Water is virtually free. Is that a big part of why we take it for granted?

Yes. There's not a great economic incentive to use it efficiently. I came to believe after all this research that we need to value water more highly.

Does that mean putting a price on water? Even privatizing it?

That's probably the trickiest question in water today, because it raises a moral dilemma. Is water a common, like the air we breathe? If it is, it should be free to everyone. Or is it a commodity, like oil or gas, that process and sell in the marketplace? On the one hand, if you don't price water, people waste it. On the other hand, if we price it too high, then you are playing a game of life and death, predicated on making a profit.

Is there a middle ground?

Yes. We need to provide a certain amount of water to every person, essentially for free. And that figure is about 13 gallons per capita per day. In the U.S., that's not very much water, but in a place like sub-Saharan Africa or China or India, it's a lot. Beyond that, we should institute a tiered price structure. So that the more water you use, the more you will pay for it.

Let’s talk about what’s in our water. I was shocked to learn that our water is more polluted now than it was 30 years ago.

The environmental laws that were instituted in the '70s – the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the founding of the EPA – were largely the result of water issues, and we tend to say, "Okay, we've dealt with that, let's move on." But the EPA has been under-funded and weakened even as the stresses on the system have grown and new kinds of pollutants have come on to the marketplace.

What kinds of pollutants?

There's something like 700 new chemicals – they're called “emerging contaminants” – that come on the market every year. Many of which are not tested for their toxicity, because there's just too many of them. And the questions are, what's the impact of all these things, individually, and what is the combined effect? What happens when that cocktail of things – say, lead, plastic, anti-bacterial soap, Chanel No. 5, narcotics and, say, Viagra – is in the water supply? What does it do to us? Again, we don't know the answer, but these are the cutting-edge questions right now.

How much do we know?

To take one example: You spray your lawn with herbicides, which contain a chemical called Atrizine, which, if and when it gets in the waterways, will disrupt the endocrine system of fish. In the Chesapeake Bay, where I spent a lot of time, the U.S. Geological Survey is now looking at male bass that are developing eggs in their testes. And there are other cases where the female fish are developing testes. It turns out the endocrine system of fish is very similar to that of humans. So, again, what is this doing to us?

And these are on top of the old-fashioned pollutants.

Right. You have the "legacy pollutants," like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), that have been in waterways for decades, and traditional pollutants like sewage and storm water runoff.

Talking of sewage, I was shocked to find that the water treatment process is only partially effective.

Me too. I was surprised to learn that the federal law is that sewage must be cleaned to 85 percent of cleanliness, which means that, even on the best of days, 15 percent of the pollutants get through!

Another big theme of your book is that our water infrastructure is in bad shape. How bad?

The state of our dams and levies and pipelines is shocking. They call this the dawn of the "replacement era," meaning water pipes are starting to burst, and it's really difficult – and expensive – to dig them up and replace them. Many levies were not well built, not well maintained, and they're starting to breach. City sewage systems needs to be totally revamped. New York City’s, for instance, was state-of-the-art 150 years ago, but now it gets overwhelmed, and we actually end up dumping raw sewage into New York's harbor when that happens.

Let’s get back to the sustainability issue. We need to change the way we value water. What else?

We need to focus on efficiency and conservation. I talk in the book about Peter Gleick of the Pacific Institute, who is sort of the champion of a new ethos that comes under the name of the "soft path," as opposed to “hard path” engineering. Soft path is technologically driven, it's kind of a smarter, less dramatic way of conserving the water supplies that we have, and using them more efficiently. How? Fairly simple steps – low-flow showerheads, low-flush toilets, drip irrigation, side-mounting washing machines, storing water underground instead of above ground, where it evaporates. These are not super hi-tech, they're existing technologies, we just haven't used them intentionally enough yet. And Gleick will tell you that if everyone in California got low-flush toilets and low-flow shower heads, that even there, in the fastest-growing state in the union, they wouldn't have to build new dams. Did working on the book change the way you use water? It did. Once I got into this, I discovered to my horror that I was wasting water in many small ways. So now I recycle water much more. I'm very careful about what I put down the drain; I used to put pharmaceuticals down the drain, because that's what we were told to do, but I realize now that many of those survive the treatment process and end up in the water supply. We now have a more efficient, low-flush toilet. I have fixed leaks in my house. The stat that I remember is that a dripping faucet can drip ten gallons a day of water – water that's been carefully collected and cleaned and piped to you. That’s just a crazy waste of resources.

 
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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Gangesvara Prabhu

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13.2 - Lord Krishna comes to your home in form of Bhagavad Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam;. Just having these books in a home eradicates all karma reactions of its residents then what benefits one get who takes full advantage of His presence.

 
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Dandavats.com: Hare Krishna New Orleans temple feast and music

Harinama das: They serve the meals outside in the front lush garden, the creole architecture stairs and the sidewalk along giant Spanish moss covered live oak trees. This creole home was in gorgeous condition. So unique looking. The video doesn't do it justice

 
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Gouranga TV: Kirtana

Kirtana

 
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