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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Tamarind Peanut Rice Noodle Salad

H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 19 April 2011--Cure for a Crazy Madhouse World--and--Question: Does God Exist?

ISKCON Transcriptions: Семинар по Вайшнава этикету и культуре Часть 4 (Russian version of the seminar)

Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie

Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Artichoke w/ Tarragon Mango Butter

16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The Subtle Health Benefits of Vegetarianism

16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: Wisdom from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

Dandavats.com: Where on Planet earth is this scene? Is it the Arctic circle?

H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Photos–Gaura Purnima and Sankirtan Saturday

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu

Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: Monks Embrace Web To Reach Recruits

H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011

Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Stopping disturbances by ruffians

Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Wish fulfilling tree - Sankirtan Yagya

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Rupesvara Gauranga asks

Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Sankirtan in the snow storm

Kurma dasa, AU: My Secret Love-affair with the Queen

H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 284—Poem for April 18

H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS

Japa Group: Please Let Me Taste Some Pleasure

Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Gaura Purnima and Sankirtana Saturday

ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 17, 2011

Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Electro-Pop Recording Artist Sir Ivan Breaks the Billboard Top 10 With "Hare Krishna" Single

Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: 2 cups of milk

Mayapur Online: HH Jayapataka Swami Vyasapuja Celebrations

Akrura das, Gita Coaching: TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

Dandavats.com: In Devotees We Trust

Dandavats.com: Mombasa temple opening

Dandavats.com: Murari’s cow & oxen need your help!!

Gouranga TV: Bhajan – 24hr Kirtan

Vraja Kishor, JP: Spirituality of the Letter “A”

Japa Group: Even The Shadow Of The Name

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Rama Navami Photos

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Tamarind Peanut Rice Noodle Salad

Tamarind Peanut Rice Noodle Salad

For the husband’s birthday I had this rice noodle salad idea bobbing around in my little noggin. Only trouble was, I was feeling way too cheap to buy my rice noodles at the Publix or Ward’s. I totally wanted to get them for like 3 cents a pack at the Asian market. But I have a baby, 2 big kids and a husband who works whackadoodle long shifts. Oh, and last week I thought I was going to have one of those I’m-so-tired nervous breakdowns. Instead, I just went to sleep. But that mean that I did not make it to the Asian Market. I did, however, make it to both Publix and Ward’s. Multiple times. And yesterday I discovered that I, in fact, had rice noodles in my cupboard all along.
For the birthday I made the dish with brown rice. Because I didn’t know I had the rice noodles even though I swear I looked in the rice noodle spot in the cupboard but there weren’t any there. Today I re-made the dish with the found rice noodles. I actually preferred it with brown rice. If you choose to accept this recipe, you can decide for yourself: rice noodles or brown rice. Either way, the end result is vegan and gluten free. Because, you know, you’re turning 40 and now have to watch these things. Or not.

Variation : Tamarind Peanut Brown Rice Salad

Ingredients:

7 ounces rice noodles or 3 cups of medium grain brown rice

1 block firm or extra firm tofu, cubed

1 cup asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ lengths

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup daikon, thinly sliced and cut into 1.5″ lengths

1 cup trimmed green beans, cut in 1″ lengths

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips

2 kirby cucumbers, sliced into half rounds

1 medium sized fennel bulb, thinly sliced

3 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup peanut butter

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup sucanat

1/4 cup dark sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons water

2 fresh green chilis

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2″ fresh ginger

additional soy sauce, vinegar and sugar

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 tablespoons white sesame seed

Directions:

Marinate the daikon in vinegar.

Marinate the tofu in soy sauce.

Cook the rice or rice noodles according to the directions on package. Set in refrigerator to cool.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. When boiling, add asparagus, broccoli and green beans to blanch for 2 minutes. Drain and submerge vegetables in cold water. Drain and refrigerate.

Heat a cast iron skillet. When hot, add 2 tablespoons coconut oil. Add tofu and pan fry until browned. Remove tofu, splash with soy sauce and refrigerate. While skillet still hot, toss in sliced fennel. Saute a few minutes on high heat until browned but still crisp. Remove from pan and refrigerate.

Wilt the spinach by heating in a hot pan with a little water. Refigerate.

To make the dressing, combine vinegar, sesame oil, water, sucanat, tamarind paste, peanut butter, chili, ginger and black pepper in a glass jar and blend with stick blender.

To assemble salad, combine all cold ingredients except for spinach. Toss to incorporate dressing.

Lay a bed of wilted spinach on the plate. Scoop a serving of salad onto the bed of spinach.

Dry roast sesame seeds in a frying pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle over salad as garnish. Serve with lime wedge.

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H.G. Sankarshan das Adhikari, USA: Tuesday 19 April 2011--Cure for a Crazy Madhouse World--and--Question: Does God Exist?

j A daily broadcast of the Ultimate Self Realization Course(tm) Tuesday 19 April 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: Cure for a Crazy Madhouse World Uploaded from Riga, Latvia This world has become a completely crazy madhouse. The mass population is totally misguided, unfortunate and always disturbed because they have not been enlightened in the transcendental science of the relationship between the self and the Supreme Self. Therefore there is no greater need for the human society than the wide scale introduction of the science of Krishna consciousness in all spheres of the human society. We are therefore requesting that all the government leaders and all the other leaders throughout the world should now give full facility for the Krishna consciousness movement to educate all the people in the higher values of human life. Sankarshan Das Adhikari Home Program Arrival Kirtan 17 April 2011, Riga, Latvia http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Program_Arrival.JPG Revealing the Cure for the Global Madness Home Program--17 April 2011, Riga, Latvia http://www.backtohome.com/images/2011-Spring/Home_Program.JPG Answers According to the Vedic Version: Question: Does God Exist? Dear Gurudeva, I would like to put my question humbly. I am not a Krishna devotee, but I was introduced to the Gita by a friend. When I started reading with interest, I started asking myself a lot of questions, the first one being: Does God exist? And then more: Has anyone been to heaven or hell before? How do we know heaven and hell exist? Why do we do puja and recite mantras? How does this help? Isn't life about thinking positive, doing the good things, and respecting others, etc? How do we know there is a world out there where we will be going if we think of Krishna all the time? I started thinking very much that God is an energy which has formed this science based world. I have never seen the existence of God. I do a lot of charity, at the same time I like to be honest that I work very hard to earn a good living for my family and myself. I have begun to realize that you can't buy anything in this world without money. I have big ambitions in life. I wish everyday to achieve all my dreams and at the same time I contribute to charitable organizations instead of the temple. I don't know if what I am doing is wrong. I don't pray like I used to in the temple, because I believe God is an energy and He is everywhere. I don't want you to think I am arrogant or I will learn someday the hard truth. I am just clueless and I want to know. S.R. Answer: Every Machine Needs an Operator If we want to know of God, we must approach this subject matter scientifically, not sentimentally. We can scientifically observe that every machine requires an operator. And we can also scientifically observe that the universe is a gigantic machine. Therefore we can scientifically conclude that there must a operator for this gigantic universal machine. That operator is known by many names. God is one of those names. Just as we find heavenly and hellish atmospheres on this planet, there are also heavenly and hellish planets within this universe, which can thus be designated as heaven and hell. And just as this earth is populated, those heavenly and hellish planets are also populated. Most people do puja and chant mantras for material purposes. This is a useless waste of time. This human form of life is meant for getting out of the cycle of birth and death, not for prolonging our sojourn here. If pujas and mantra chanting are done properly under the guidance of a bona fide spiritual master, they immediately liberate the practitioner from the vicious cycle of birth and death. You are 100% correct that life is meant for positive thinking, doing good, and respecting others. Therefore we have to stop identifying with our rotting material bodies and indentify instead as the eternal spiritual beings that we are. Any identification with the material body is the most negative type of thinking that we can have. Doing good means to do that which liberates us and others from the cycle of birth and death. Anything which does not further the purpose of liberation from birth and death is actually bad, although it may appear to be good. Respecting others means to see them as the eternal spiritual beings that they are. To see anyone as their material body is the greatest disrespect. When we see and treat everyone as spiritual beings that is the greatest respect. When you are connected with the root cause of the total reality, Lord Sri Krishna, you are perfectly connected with everyone and everything. Therefore only the devotee of Krishna is fully attuned to the world in which he lives. If you want to be sure about the existence of the transcendental kingdom of God, we invite you to come there so that you can fully substantiate its existence. If you agree to follow our teachings, we will personally take you to that most amazing of all places. When you anoint your eyes with the salve of love, you will see that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna, is everywhere and that He is not just the energy. He is indeed the very source of all the energy. There is no harm in earning money. It is the energy of Krishna and is therefore meant to be employed in His service. But you should know that we are not maintained by money. When was the last time you sat down and ate a salad made out of Indian rupees? Those things on which we are actually dependent--such as air, water, food, and the raw materials that make our homes and clothes--are all given to us by God. They are not the product of money. If you want to do charity work, you should help that charity which is actually doing permanent good for the suffering population by delivering them out of this miserable material existence, back to the spiritual world. That charitable organization is the Krishna consciousness movement. I do not find you to be arrogant. Rather I appreciate that you are following the proper system of approaching a spiritual master to get proper answers for the most perplexing and important questions of life. 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 http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=714185709 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 Transcriptions: Семинар по Вайшнава этикету и культуре Часть 4 (Russian version of the seminar)

Семинар по Вайшнавскому Этикету и Культуре , проведенный Его Святейшеством Бхактивидьей Пурной Свами в 1998 году.

Вчера мы закончили обсуждать о том, что мы хотели бы применять некоторые аспекты Ведической культуры. Тогда нам следует увидеть, какие аспекты окружают ее, и в какой ситуации это можно применить, а затем уже изучить все остальные детали. Тогда будет видна полная картина. Может быть, нам придется заняться исследованием или обсудить эти аспекты, как вчера мы это делали, когда обсуждали тему по поводу обязательств.
Итак, нужно понять, какая нужна квалификация, чтобы правильно воспитать девочку, какую квалификацию нужно иметь для воспитания мальчика и сами семьи – какими качествами они должны обладать, что за ситуация, какое за всем этим стоит умонастроение-все это имеет место. Поняв все правильно, можно применить знания в зависимости от времени и обстоятельств. Иначе могут возникнуть сложности в применении их на практике, потому что внешняя форма может быть приспособлена только до какой-то степени. Например, идея о том, что девочка достигает своей зрелости, когда она становится женщиной, в 12 лет, т.е. ее менталитет и образ мыслей, как у женщины, оформляется к 12 годам. В то время как мальчик становится мужчиной в конце подросткового возраста или в начале 20 лет. Считается, что это созревание происходит где-то в 25 лет. Поэтому Шрила Прабхупада говорил, что согласно времени и обстоятельствам и что разрешается в зависимости от особенности страны, все это должно быть адаптировано под конкретную страну, т.к. в некоторых странах разрешается жениться в 16 лет, в других – в 17 или в 18. Поэтому нужна корректировка, в зависимости от ситуации. Это всегда нужно учитывать. read full story

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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie

My husband is sick of vegan food. Especially sick of vegan desserts. If I didn’t come up with some milkfattysweets for him soon, there was going to be trouble. Since my birthday I wanted to make this bittersweet chocolate pudding pie from Bon Appetit but, well, I had just had a baby and all. I’ve made it before for my birthday. And it’s insane. Super rich chocolate aneurysm insane. Since my husband just turned the big 4-0 last week and we have a family tradition of dragging birthdays out, I went for it today. The pie is topped with freshly whipped cream and mascarpone. It is a delight to eat. The man is happy. Half the pie was eaten by 9 pm. Tomorrow I will be washing the pie dish.
Do try out the recipe. It is incredible. Bill Cosby will weep.
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Devadeva Mirel, Alachua, USA: Recipe : Artichoke w/ Tarragon Mango Butter

artichoke with tarragon mango butter

Artichokes are my husband’s favorite food. Whenever it is an anniversary or birthday, he requests this easy to make treat for his special dinner. By themselves, artichokes are a low cal, fat free, simple to make dish. But no artichoke is complete without a sauce to dip the petals into. Yes, petals. Artichokes are flowers. Sure, you could use Veganaisse, but do you think that’s what my husband has in mind when he puts in his request? No. Not really. Rather, the man just wants a vehicle to deliver sinfully fatty sauce to his tum tum. Long ago, at the start of our marriage, I threw a mango into the mix to get a little fresh fruity vitamin fun into the mix. A few years later, the recipe evolved to include tarragon. We’ve since made the sauce a mainstay. Artichokes just aren’t the same without it. You will want to experiment with the balance of salty and sweet and sour to suit your tongue. But whatever your proportions, this sauce hits all the right spots. Make it vegan with Earth Balance Buttery Sticks or do dairy. Subbing olive oil will definitely change the taste but the blended mango will keep it thick. This tarragon mango butter makes you want to keep scraping that artichoke, dip after dip. It is a dipping sauce that can be used for all sorts of yummness. Spread it on burgers, drizzle on falafel or even pour over steamed asparagus. But for now, we’re using it to coat our artichoke petals.
Prep time: 10 minutes |Cook time: 40 minutes |Total time: 50 minutes |Servings: 4
Ingredients:

4 artichokes

1 mango

4 tbsp. butter

1 tsp. of salt

2 tbsp. of fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. of grade B maple syrup

5 fresh tarragon leaves or 1 tsp. dried tarragon

Steps:

Trim the artichoke by removing stem, cutting off top and clipping sharp leaves.

Place artichoke in 2″ of water at bottom of large pot and set to boil for 40 minutes.

In a glass jar, combine mango fruit, melted Earth Balance, salt, lime juice, maple syrup and tarragon. Using a stick blender, fully blend ingredients.

Artichoke is done when leaf easily pulls away. Serve artichoke hot and sauce at room temperature.

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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: The Subtle Health Benefits of Vegetarianism

You may already be aware of some health benefits of being vegetarian such as a lower risk of high cholesterol and heart disease. Have you also considered the more subtle effects of your diet on your mind and consciousness? According to the Vedas, following a sattvic diet (diet in the mode of goodness) is essential for maintaining a healthy, peaceful, and happy mental state. Foods in goodness include fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes. Canned or frozen foods, whether vegetables, beans, or meats, are not sattvic, as any food that is not fresh loses some of its prana or life force/energy. Meats then, are far from being sattvic, as animal flesh is old and decomposed. Rather than giving us prana, animal flesh can actually deplete the body of prana. A diet heavy in meat can thus leave one feeling lethargic, while a vegetarian diet with fresh foods can help the mind feel lightness, creativity and happiness. Recently, some scientific research studies have supported this notion that a vegetarian diet creates a more peaceful mind such as one study entitled, “Vegetarian diets are associated with healthy mood states: a cross-sectional study in Seventh Day Adventist adults” published in Nutritional Journal in June 2010.
We absorb the energy of the foods we eat. If we eat an apple picked fresh from a tree, we intake fresh energy and life. If we ingest meat however, our minds can absorb the negative emotions the animal felt upon slaughter such as anxiety, suspicion and fear of death. Such emotions can get stored on a cellular level in the animal flesh and make its way into the consciousness of one who eats it.
Furthermore, one important quality of practicing any form of spiritual life, be it Christianity, Krishna Consciousness, Judaism, or Islam, is to become free from envy of other living creatures. God created and loves all creatures, and hopes that we also love and respect our fellow beings as commanded in all religious practices. As long as we are participating in, or supporting animal slaughter, we are not exactly following the instruction of God to love and care for all creatures, but rather causing unnecessary pain to others. We did not create the animals, so why do we have the right to take their lives away, when we can subsist rather nicely on a meat free diet? The mind and spirit will feel more compassionate and less envious when we eat a vegetarian, cruelty free diet. Our diet does affect our consciousness and mental state.
To take your vegetarian diet to the next level, prepare your vegetarian food as an offering to God, and then accept the food as His mercy, or prasadam. Visit your local Hare Krishna temple to sample delicious vegetarian prasadam or to learn in detail how to prepare your own. By eating prasadam, and by following a vegetarian diet, your mind can increase in goodness, peace, and clarity.

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16 Rounds to Samadhi Magazine, LA, USA: Wisdom from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

Happiness Results in Health
According to the sutras, regardless of one’s culture, religion, family traditions or race, universal principles exist that apply to all human beings.
Good health and happiness go hand in hand. When we are healthy, we have energy to do things that make us happy. On the flipside, psychological studies have shown that happy people live longer and healthier lives. The question is, how do we become happy? Propaganda may lead us to believe that acquiring material goods leads to happiness. We work hard to earn money to buy the latest trends. Yet something is missing. Frustration is still there. No matter how much we get, it is never enough.
The Yoga Sutras, compiled by Patanjali, teach us about the eight limbs of yoga, an alternative path to happiness and health. The physical exercises practiced in yoga studios are one of the eight limbs. The other limbs focus on breath, morality, meditation, and other aspects of spiritual living. The first limb is called Yamas, or universal principles of morality. According to the sutras, regardless of one’s culture, religion, family traditions or race, universal principles exist that apply to all human beings. Following these principles, not acquisition of material goods, is the key to happiness.
These principles of morality are:
1) Ahimsa (non-violence/compassion) – includes being nonviolent to other living beings in thought, words, and deeds. Following a vegetarian diet is one way to practice ahimsa. Ahimsa also refers to being non-violent to oneself.
2) Satya (truthfulness) – besides not speaking lies to others, satya includes being honest with ourselves.
3) Asteya (non-stealing) – in addition to not stealing others’ property, asteya includes not stealing people’s time with gossip/non-purposeful speech, and not taking from the earth more resources than needed. We can recognize everything as belonging to God, and use resources for universal good rather than “steal” them for selfish purposes.
4) Brahmacarya (sense control) – Just because we see a piece of chocolate cake, we do not have to eat it. Brahmacarya refers to utilizing intelligence rather than sensual inclinations in making choices. In regards to sex, it refers to celibacy in unmarried people, and monogamy and restriction within married couples.
5) Aparigraha (non-hoarding) – Aparigraha refers to keeping what we need, and not more, to maintain a healthy life. When we possess less, life becomes simpler, and we have more time and energy for spiritual cultivation.
Modern society teaches us that more sex, money, and possessions will bring us happiness. To accomplish these feats we sometimes lie, pretend to be who we are not, and commit violence against others to get our own way. Yet such a life does not lead to actual happiness. Let us acknowledge the wisdom offered by spiritual texts such as Patanjali’s yoga sutras. Experiment with these principles of morality for just one week. Try to live a simple, honest, and pure life in accordance with these five yamas, and feel the results for yourself. Happiness and health come from within by the choices we make every day

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Dandavats.com: Where on Planet earth is this scene? Is it the Arctic circle?

By Parasuram das
Answer = The toxic river Yamuna in Noida Delhi. There is no river in the world as polluted as the most sacred river in the world. It is a long way from the crystal clear Yamuna river in the Himalayas, with the cool delicious water that can purify anyone of all sins and give pure bhakti

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Photos–Gaura Purnima and Sankirtan Saturday

taken from Gaura Purnima and Sankirtana Saturday Posted: April 18, 2011 by maddmonk in Life In The Castle

We decided to track down the harinam party, which proved more difficult than we first thought. They had strayed off into the street malls of Maastricht, nowhere to be seen or heard. There was no speaker system so they were a little more faint then the usual rip-roaring street kirtanas. Eventually we found them, also finding an empty book box (the distributors had claimed all the books!). The devotees were all still super enthusiastic in their congregational kirtana.
HH Prahladananda Swami continued to maintain the harinam at the main mall until we all closed in.
taken from Gaura Purnima and Sankirtana Saturday Posted: April 18, 2011 by maddmonk in Life In The Castle

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu
Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu
April 17th, 2011
Srimad Bhagavatam 12.4.5-6 - Chanting of the Holy Name should become the most relishable part of our existence (...prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam)
10.0MB
Posted by Bhakti Sara Dasa at 19/4/11; 9:13:39 AM to the Daily Class dept.

ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Daily Class - Kesava Prabhu - Srimad Bhagavatam 12.4.5-6

SB 12.4.5: When the two halves of the lifetime of Lord Brahmā, the most elevated created being, are complete, the seven basic elements of creation are annihilated.

SB 12.4.6: O King, upon the annihilation of the material elements, the universal egg, comprising the elemental amalgamation of creation, is confronted with destruction.

SB 12.4.5: Cuando las dos mitades del curso de la vida del Señor Brahmā, el más elevado de los seres creados, se completan, los siete elementos básicos de la creación se aniquilan.

SB 12.4.6: ¡Oh rey!, sobre la aniquilación de los elementos materiales, el huevo universal, abarcando la amalgamación elemental de la creación, con la destrucción.

Srimad Bhagavatam 12.4.5-6 - Chanting of the Holy Name should become the most relishable part of our existence (...prati-padam purnamrtasvadanam).

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Bhakta Chris, New York, USA: Monks Embrace Web To Reach Recruits

Stew Milne for The New York Times
A group prayer at the Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island. The monks there have gone online to find new members.
More Photos »
By TANZINA VEGA
The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., have a problem. They are aging — five are octogenarians and the youngest will be 50 on his next birthday — and their numbers have fallen to 12, from a peak of about 24 in 1969.
Multimedia
Slide Show
Monks Adjust Recruitment for the Digital Age
So the monks, who for centuries have shied away from any outside distractions, have instead done what many troubled organizations are doing to find new members — they have taken to the Internet with an elaborate ad campaign featuring videos, a blog and even a Gregorian chant ringtone.
“We’re down in numbers, we’re aging, we feel the pressure to do whatever we can,” said Abbot Caedmon Holmes, who has been in charge of the abbey since 2007. “If this is the way the younger generation are looking things up and are communicating, then this is the place to be.”
That place is far from the solitary lives that some may think monks live. In fact, in this age of all things social media, the monks have embraced what may be the most popular of form of public self-expression: a Facebook page, where they have uploaded photos and video testimonials.
A new Web site (portsmouthabbeymonastery.org) answers questions on how to become a monk — one F.A.Q.: “Do I have to give up my car?” (yes) — and print ads announce that “God Is Calling.” Some monks will even write blogs.
“If 500 years ago, blogging existed, the monks would have found a way to make use of it,” Abbot Holmes said. “Our power is very limited. In the end it’s God who is calling people to himself and calling to people to live in union with him. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t do our part.”
For some, the technological approach to advertising and marketing may seem at odds with the image of an almost hermitlike monastic existence. Not so, say the monks. The use of technology and social media has been embraced even by the Vatican, which has its own YouTube channel and a

Pope John Paul II
https://www.facebook.com/vatican.johnpaul2
http://www.youtube.com/user/vatican
ANGELUS 2011-10-02

Angelus - Regina caeli (138)
ANGELUS 2011-09-25ANGELUS 2011-09-18

Facebook page dedicated to the beatification of Pope John Paul II.
“We were going to do this no matter what, but we are happy that the pope thinks well of this kind of media for our purposes,” said David Moran, director of the monastic renewal program office at the abbey.
The campaign, especially on Facebook, presents the monks “as being open and friendly and totally accessible,” said Tom Simons, the chief executive and creative director of Partners and Simons, the advertising agency the abbey hired to oversee the new campaign. The Facebook page will allow the monks “to build out their fan base,” he said.
The Simons ad agency, based in Boston, typically has clients like health care and financial services companies. “This assignment from Portsmouth Abbey was intriguing because it’s the Lord’s work,” Mr. Simons said.
The day of the firm’s initial meeting with the abbey, Mr. Simons told his staff that a “holy person” would be visiting and recalled the sight of Mr. Moran and Brother Gregory Havill, dressed in his monk’s robe, entering the agency while electronic house music played in the background.
“I think Brother Gregory felt he had arrived in a brand/digital advertising theme park and he was alternatively bemused and delighted with the ride,” Mr. Simons said in an e-mail.
Once at the planning table, cultural differences faded and the agency and abbey quickly agreed to focus their efforts on the Web. “We knew from the outset that this wasn’t going to be solved through traditional marketing,” he said.
Partners and Simons collaborated with BPI, a film production company, to create online videos of the monks. The interviews were the building blocks of the campaign, Mr. Simons said, focusing on how the monks heard the call, what monastic life is like and inviting newcomers to visit. The goal was to capture “their warmth, their sincerity, their gentleness,” he said.
Brother Havill’s story, which revolves around a pastrami and Swiss cheese sandwich, plays a prominent role in the campaign both in print and in video. One of the print ads tells the story of a day 10 years ago when, while waiting for his sandwich to warm up in the microwave, Brother Havill says he heard the call to “go to Portsmouth.”
Having dabbled in genealogy, Brother Havill thought the Portsmouth in question was the port in England that many of his ancestors had traveled through on their way to the United States. But when he woke up the next morning, he said, he realized the message was for the Benedictine monastery at Portsmouth Abby.
“I didn’t have any plans to become a monk or anything like that,” said Brother Havill, who at the time was an art teacher and sculptor living alone in Cromwell, Conn.
The abbey is attached to a co-ed high school called the Portsmouth Abbey School, where two-thirds of the students live on the grounds. Some of the monks, including Brother Havill, who uses an iPad to teach art, work there. The monks can use technology to teach or for work, Brother Havill said, but “you won’t find monks out there playing with their iPads.”
In addition to providing an education, Catholic boarding schools like the one at Portsmouth also served another purpose.
“In the old days, they would just have kids there that they would educate, and every now and then some of them would join the monastery,” said Francis Russell Hittinger, a professor of law and Catholic studies at the University of Tulsa. “The number has precipitously declined over the last 50 years.”
Beyond recruiting from schools, the abbey placed ads in publications like the Catholic magazine First Things and Religious Ministries, a directory of Catholic communities. When those didn’t work, the abbey took the path of many major advertisers — hiring an independent ad agency.
With this campaign, Mr. Moran, who is a graduate of the Portsmouth Abbey School, said he expected the Facebook page to invite users to learn more about the abbey and the monks and to help spread the word about them. He will help some of the monks, including Brother Havill and Abbot Holmes, to learn to blog, which they will do between the five religious services they observe each day, although he has decided they are not quite ready for Twitter.
“Not yet,” he said. The social networking tool “requires a regularity in posting that we would find very difficult to maintain.”
A version of this article appeared in print on April 18, 2011, on page B1 of the New York edition.

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H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011

H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011
SB 06.05.17 Simply Eternal 2011-04-16
Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011 Los Angeles (evolution)

H.H. Prahladananda Swami: Lecture – SB 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011

SB 6.5.17: [Nārada Muni had said that there is a house made of twenty-five elements. The Haryaśvas understood this analogy.] The Supreme Lord is the reservoir of the twenty-five elements, and as the Supreme Being, the conductor of cause and effect, He causes their manifestation. If one engages in temporary fruitive activities, not knowing that Supreme Person, what benefit will he derive?

SB 6.5.17: [Nārada Muni había hablado de una casa hecha de veinticinco elementos. Los Haryaśvas entendieron la analogía:] El Señor Supremo es el origen de los veinticinco elementos y, como Ser Supremo y conductor de la causa y el efecto, hace que se manifiesten. Una persona que se ocupe en actividades fruitivas, que son temporales, y no conozca a esa Persona Suprema, ¿qué beneficio puede obtener?

SB 6.5.17: [Nārada Muni avait parlé d'une maison faite de vingt-cinq éléments. Les Haryaśvas comprirent cette analogie:] Le Seigneur Suprême est à l'origine des vingt-cinq éléments, et en tant qu'Etre Souverain, maître des causes et effets, c'est Lui qui provoque leur manifestation. Si quelqu'un se plonge dans l'action intéressée aux fruits éphémères, n'ayant pas connaissance de cette Personne Suprême, quel avantage en retirera-t-il?

SB 06.05.17 Simply Eternal 2011-04-16
Lecture – Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011 Los Angeles (evolution)
SB 06.05.17 Simply Eternal 2011-04-16 Lecture - Srimad Bhagavatam 6.5.17 Simply Eternal 4-16-2011 Los Angeles (evolution)

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Bharatavarsa.net: Bhakti Vikasa Swami: Stopping disturbances by ruffians

Without Krsna Consciousness the disturbances of the world will increase. The disturbances by some ruffians in the vicinity of Udharan Dutta Thakur's Samity is noted by me. This can be stopped immediately if we adopt the process of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's activities are known as delivering the sinful men: papi tapi yat chila hare name udarila. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu without any discrimination used to call from all orders of life and engage them in chanting Hare Krsna Mantra. Similarly, if we make such organization in the temple of Udharan Dutta Thakur, to call everyone to join the Hare Nama Sankirtan and then distribute sumptuous prasadam certainly they will advance in spiritual consciousness and become perfect human beings. For this purpose preachers are wanted. So far as prasadam is concerned, there will be no deficiency but devotees are needed to organize this system.
Engaging people in sankirtan, either in a musical way or by spiritual discussion, people will come to their senses and stop harmful activities; gradually they will become Vaishnavas, so they will be saved from sinful activities and the society will be saved from the harmful activities of rogues and thieves. While thinking of future improvements of Udharan Dutta Thakur's temple I wish that these points be taken into consideration. We are always ready to cooperate in this preaching work. That is our mission.
>>> Ref. VedaBase => Letter to: Kashinath Mullick, 4 February, 1977

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Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Wish fulfilling tree - Sankirtan Yagya

The purpose of yagya is to satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In this age, as we have explained many times, the yagya of chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra is the only sacrifice that can satisfy the Supreme Lord. When the Lord is satisfied, one can fulfill any desire, material or spiritual...Everything is possible by performing yagya. Therefore although Purüravä desired something material, he factually performed yagya to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord is adhokshaja, beyond the perception of Purüravä and everyone else. Consequently, some kind of yagya must be performed to fulfill the desires of the living entity. Yagyas can be performed in human society only when society is divided by varnashrama-dharma into four varnas and four äshramas. Without such a regulative process, no one can perform yagyas, and without the performance of yagyas, no material plans can make human society happy at any time. Everyone should therefore be induced to perform yagyas. In this age of Kali, the yagya recommended is sankirtana, the individual or collective chanting of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. This will bring the fulfillment of all necessities for human society.
Srimad Bhagvatam 9.14.47

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H.H. Sivarama Swami: Rupesvara Gauranga asks

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Rupesvara Gauranga asks

Rupesvara Gauranga asks
April 18th, 2011
“On your recent visit to the Manor, you mentioned that Srila Prabhupada wanted his devotees to write. Can you expand on this? For example, how/what do we write about?”
[ 10:53 ]

H.H. Sivarama Swami: Rupesvara Gauranga asks

“On your recent visit to the Manor, you mentioned that Srila Prabhupada wanted his devotees to write. Can you expand on this? For example, how/what do we write about?”

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Toronto Sankirtan Team, CA: Sankirtan in the snow storm

Posted by : Bhaktin Rashmin
It was Sunday, eleven o-clock am. I am waiting outside Urban Edge yoga for my sankirtan partner. Suddenly it's 11:30am. Gigantic snowflakes start to pierce the street, the wind adding some "umph" to the blizzard. It turned out that she was horribly late and my hunger was growling. I had already left for temple having waited a while, but finally got in touch with her. I hesitated to go back into the cool streets and yet something in the back of my mind told me to go. Krishna wanted me to serve Him in this way. I asked for it so He gave it!!

The taxi pulled up to the corner of Bloor and Spadina and we dived right into our glorious sankirtan. This time around, I distributed flyers for the Inspirit festival with Devamrita Swami and Bada Hari Das this coming June, as well as my vegan cookies- ginger lemon :D. I had baked and carefully packed these cookies. I felt more confident that day, enjoying the feeling of changing peoples's lives and starting their Krishna consciousness. I even got someone to chant the Maha Mantra!! Mangal Aarti said something really nice to me: that other living beings in other planets are performing this very same service of Sankirtana. It kind of blew my mind away a little because I realized that there certainly are devotees not just on planet earth but elsewhere. Far out man, far out.

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Kurma dasa, AU: My Secret Love-affair with the Queen

If it's true that potatoes are the king of vegetables, then cauliflower must surely be the queen. Firm, creamy-white florets of this royal vegetable cry out to be cooked in a myriad of ways.
Gently stewed with aromatic basmati rice, fresh turmeric, mung dal and ginger in kitcheri; lightly steamed with baby carrots and broccoli and mixed with butter-soft chickpeas, garden greens and a peppery lime and tahini dressing for a stunning salad; dipped in chili-laced chickpea flour batter and crisped in sweet, hot ghee; lightly sauteed with tomatoes and fresh coriander; splashed with olive oil then oven-roasted and folded through with feta, puy lentils and watercress; I could go on. I must admit to having a secret love-affair with cauliflower.
There are more than a dozen cauliflower dishes in my books. Here's what I crave today, with fresh hot parathas. This recipe is from my first cookbook. Order one from me now for Mothers Day: kurma.acbsp@pamho.net

North Indian Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes
This is a popular North Indian vegetable dish. Combined with hot Puffed Fried Breads (Pooris) or rice, I could eat this any time of the day and on any occasion.
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME: 15 - 20 minutes, YIELD: enough for 4 - 5 persons
1/4 cup ghee or oil 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger, 2 hot green chilies, seeded and chopped, 3 medium potatoes, cut into 1 1/4 cm (1/2-inch) cubes, 1 medium cauliflower, cut into small flowerets, 2 medium tomatoes blanched, peeled, and diced, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh coriander or parsley, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Heat the ghee or oil in a large, heavy saucepan over moderate heat. When the ghee is hot, add the mustard seeds. When they crackle, add the cumin and saute them until they darken a few shades. Add the ginger and chilies, saute for a few moments, and then add the potato and cauliflower pieces. Stir-fry the vegetables for 4 or 5 minutes or until the vegetables start to stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add the tomatoes, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, sugar, and salt.
Mix well, reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan, and, stirring occasionally, cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add water if necessary during this time but don't over-stir the vegetables. When the vegetables are cooked, add the fresh coriander and the lemon juice. Serve hot.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): 284—Poem for April 18

www.sdgonline.org.
A Writer of Pieces
New format—I will begin with a poem written on the day of its printing. Then I will print random excerpts of books I have printed over the last 30 years. I hope this variety will be pleasing.
Poem for April 18
“Kaulini Mataji and Nandarani
are coming for lunch. We will serve
ravioli, although we usually don’t
share them with guests.
They are special. Kaulini
finally repossesses her house
as swami’s crew leaves. She
speaks wondrous ordinary speech
holds our attention. Nandarani is here to
catch up on much typing
of the autobiog. and see if she’s
willing to surrender here for life.
Sixteen rounds done by four A.M.
slithering them rapidly through
mind before Narayana comes.
It’s so nice his presence in
the room, submissive disciple
applying to take his own disciples,
that’s just right.
Gurudasa typing the daily
Internet appreciative, we hear
many people read, that’s
satisfying and surprising.
A person shouldn’t work
for reward, should be
humbler than the blade of grass.
Krishna will be pleased with
us if we do our yoga
class and pray to keep
writing from the life of service.
You shouldn’t run the
well dry, have to find new
ways to look at it.
New insights on the years
and activities even if there
is some repetition. I pray
for a loosed tongue and
words to glorify Krishna
and Prabhupada and remember
who I was all the many
years of serving them.
Krishna says He is controlling
the material nature and
beyond that He resides
in Goloka with His chosen ones.
We all aspire to join Him
there, but you have to qualify
with total surrender for that.
Don’t think I have achieved
the adhikara but am
totally dependent on
guru’s mercy.

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H.H. Satsvarupa das Goswami (Ret.): OLD FRIENDS

www.sdgonline.org.
From Here is Srila Prabhupada
August 6, 1991

“I am looking for a way to start remembering Srila Prabhupada again. I feel apart from him, with no way to connect.
“In the Antwerp temple this morning, I found my way back to him. During a Tulasi arati, the pujari finished offering the ghee wick to Tulasi and handed it to a grhastha who was standing nearby. The devotee hesitated for a split-second, then turned and offered the flame to me. I knew the flame should first be offered to Srila Prabhupada, but I reached out and touched it anyway. I didn’t want to embarrass the devotee because he didn’t follow the proper etiquette, but I should have said something. The flame should have first been offered to Prabhupada. So here I am, beginning another book about Prabhupada with a feeling of regret. Prabhupada should be the center of my life, but I continue to take his place. Still, I am hopeful. I vow to improve.
“The Antwerp temple worships a painting of the Panca-tattva as their main Deity. To the right of it they have placed a small photo of Srila Prabhupada. He is sitting relaxed in a chair, wearing a red cable-knit sweater. His garland is made of fragrant gardenias. Prabhupada is clapping his hands and holding them forward. When the lighting is focused right on the photo, Prabhupada’s hands look like they are coming right out of the picture. It gives the photo an amazingly lifelike effect. Srila Prabhupada’s eyes are shining, and he seems pleased, thoughtful, and grateful at the same time. I think he was looking out at a gathering of his disciples when the photo was taken. He looks deeply moved at how these fallen Westerners have been transformed into servants of the Vaisnavas by Lord Caitanya’s mercy.
“The photo was distributed to the temples in this zone during the Prabhupada marathon last year. It has a printed statement at the bottom: ‘If you want to please me, distribute my books.’ I think, ‘Oh, this photo was put together with that statement to create some propaganda about book distribution,’ and I find myself losing touch with Prabhupada in the photo and becoming distanced from the mood it was distributed in. But then I realized I am sorry I cannot enter deeply into pleasing Srila Prabhupada by book distribution. It is not just propaganda. This is a way to please Prabhupada, and yet . . . you, dear reader, and I too, we can please Prabhupada. We can distribute his books. We can read his books. We can please Prabhupada by the simple devotional acts we perform under his direction. Prabhupada is glancing compassionately at all of us from this photo because he is pleased by our offering. We should never doubt this.
“Srila Prabhupada, I accept this method you have offered me to resume meditation on your lotus feet, through the regret I feel for having taken the flame before you. Nevertheless, I have confidence that I will rectify my wrongs. And I have confidence that this service of writing you have given me will help. You said, ‘Keep on with this business of writing articles . . . go on writing something glorifying the Lord and put our philosophy into words. Writing means to express oneself, how he is understanding the philosophy. So this writing is necessary for everyone.’ Let me write the true story of coming to you each day, despite the distractions and forgetfulness and poverty in my heart. Let me glorify you.
“Prabhupada, you are not a plaything. You are the solemn director of my life, the boss I report to. More than that, you are my angel-guide, the representative of Supersoul—my only access to inconceivable Krishna.
“You are the one who will meet me at the end. I’m trying to limit my baggage so that I can rush to your lotus feet unencumbered.
“One should go to the guru not with nonsense but to surrender. The sastras state, ‘Who needs a guru? That person seeking the Absolute Truth.’
“Yet even the seeker of the Absolute Truth has problems. He doesn’t want to take his problems and dump them at the feet of the guru, but where else will he put them? He has to be honest, not just the picture-perfect disciple who puts on neat tilaka and bows down reciting properly-enunciated pranams. The disciple has to let the guru get at his heart.
“My point is, I just want to find as many ways as possible to enter Prabhupada consciousness and to break through the barriers that prevent me from loving, surrendering to him, enjoying his books, and serving him twenty-four hours a day.”

From Talking Freely to My Lords

“I waved the incense, flame and flower
and place a drop of water
in the palm of each devotee
as they came to water her.
Touch her earth, dance around.
For twenty years, I never thought deeply
about the meaning of the song:
‘I beg you to make me a follower
of the cowherd damsels of Vraja . . .
Thus within my vision I will
always behold the beautiful pastimes
of Radha and Krishna.’
Touch her earth, dance around.”
Meager Resources
“Gunshots, loud and more of them
so much trouble in each life,
and me with meager resources.
A disciple wrote me,
‘You tell us to follow the rules
but we need to be hugged, your philosophy
doesn’t grow corn and run oxen.
People hurt us and play games,
so what are you going to do?
We don’t see you as the one who can heal.
“I go out the back door
into the woods,
come back healed but
not enough.
Who can help the deer?”
From Photo Preaching
“Diary, December 24

“Take care to change the particulars. Leave no fingerprints or footprints behind. They’ll find you in the end anyway. It’s just a matter of time. This is a journal. I don’t know why, but I like to keep it.
“Our plans: We will leave tomorrow and be on the road. An undercover man doesn’t usually keep a diary. Only fools leave evidence. But there is a method to this.
“We have heard about Krishna. Who hasn’t? He is the Supreme Being, although most people only know Him as ‘God.’ We want to be counted on His side because He always wins. That’s because He is time, death. O Govinda, the whole world likes to hear Your names chanted and to become attached to You, but the demons flee on hearing You approach.
“This is the year when they are exerting more control. My eraser will hide my errors. In the end, I’ll die with my secrets. Rimbaud died in the bed under which he had stashed his gold—his passage-money to hell. The defeatist mood: the albatross thinks, ‘Since they are trying to control me, I might as well surrender to them. Or at least when I die, I won’t have to worry about being caught anymore. Perhaps I’ll be vindicated at death.’
“Something is happening
but you don’t know what it is,
do you, Mr. Jones?”
From With Srila Prabhupada in the Early Days: My Letters from Srila Prabhupada, Volume I
“Although there was underlying friction with my relatives, I kept up contact with them, but my relationship with them had changed. I decided to take a portfolio we had made to my older sister. Prabhupada had devised a scheme to solicit large donations from high-class people. We had gathered materials to convince prospective donors of our authenticity—photocopies of news articles like the one that had appeared in the New York Times about our chanting in Tompkins Square Park, the National Enquirer article entitled, ‘New Indian Religion Gets You Higher Than LSD,’ and the favorable article from the East Village Other. I didn’t know many respectable people beside my relatives, so I decided to try preaching to them first.
“I took the New York Central line out of Times Square and headed north for an hour. I brought with me the original edition of Prabhupada’s Easy Journey to Other Planets. Reading this book, I had a supramundane experience. While waiting for the train and during the ride, I actually perceived spiritual reality. I became completely convinced of what Prabhupada wrote—that the existence of transcendental reality is separate from material surroundings. It was exciting to read this.
“As soon as I reached my sister’s home, I immediately preached Krishna consciousness. She said, ‘Oh, this is typical of you. Whatever you get into, you really get into it completely. How long is this going to last?’
“I said, ‘Oh no. This is it.’ I explained to her that we should not be attracted to lumps of flesh. The spiritual world is a reality. She listened without arguing.
“Then her husband came home, and he was friendly. He was a stock analyst quickly rising to success in the New York Stock Exchange. I preached to him that wealth is not everything in life. I quoted the Bible. Christ says that it is harder for a man attached to his wealth to get into the kingdom of heaven than it is to put a camel through the eye of a needle. He didn’t like this, although I was quoting Christian scripture. Both he and my sister tolerated me until I asked for a donation. They flatly refused.
“It was late afternoon and I thought to myself, ‘Well, that’s it. I tried. Swamiji sent me. I preached the best I could.’ I said to them, ‘So, I think I have to go now.’
“My sister became alarmed. ‘Wait a minute. Just stay and sit and talk. We heard you out. We’ve talked about your spiritual life. Now let’s just relax. There are other things.’ She wanted to relate to me as brother, but I persisted in wanting to leave. My sister continued, ‘You’ve talked only about Krishna consciousness. Are you some kind of fanatic? Is that all you can talk about? Why are you saying you have to go now just because we won’t give you a donation?’
“‘I’m sorry,’ I said, ‘I have to go. There’s nothing for me to do here. I don’t want to talk about anything but Krishna consciousness.’
“I may have been slightly fanatical because I was clinging to Krishna consciousness, which Srila Prabhupada had so recently given us.
“My brother-in-law drove me to the train station. ‘This isn’t just something sentimental,’ I told him. ‘It’s not foolish. It’s transcendental loving service to the Lord.’
“‘I understand, I understand.’ He tried to show me that he reflected seriously about spiritual things.
“That was the last time I saw my sister. When I returned to Prabhupada I was happy to tell him about my preaching mission. ‘Swamiji is my real father,’ I thought. ‘Everything else is maya.’ Having experienced the world of maya, I happily entered Prabhupada’s room, although I had failed in getting money. After returning from my sister’s house, I valued the Krishna conscious atmosphere at 26 Second Avenue much more. Prabhupada’s room was as precious to me as the inner sanctums were to the Egyptian kings. It was filled with intense vibrations of his familiar love for us.
“I told Prabhupada about my visit to my sister, and he was glad I had tried, even though I had returned without a donation. Prabhupada’s compassion was one of his greatest qualities. He had no attraction for characters like us, but he didn’t show it. He only saw the spirit soul within us. That’s the wonderful caliber of a spiritual person. Prabhupada let us come close to him. He treated us so nicely that we wanted to give up our relatives and live with him.”

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Japa Group: Please Let Me Taste Some Pleasure

O Krsna! Thakura Bhaktivinoda has warned us that inattention is the main door into the house of aparadhas. O Krsna! Please let me taste some pleasure in Your names, so I can focus my full attention on chanting. May Your holy names become deeply impressed in my mind.

From Art Of Chanting Hare Krsna
by Mahanidhi Swami

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Maddy Jean-claude Durr, New Govardhana, AU: Gaura Purnima and Sankirtana Saturday

Saturday 19th, March 2011.
            We rushed down to the Mangala arati ceremony. The room outside of the temple was decorated elaborately with colourful banners (it seemed that Rick Prabhu had finished what we had started, making the whole arrangement even grander). The ceremony itself was surcharged with a mystical feeling. Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda had the most intriguing effulgence, which paraded through the whole atmosphere.
            Daily we read Bhurijana Prabhu’s book on Japa (where other temples would usually read Namamrta) and today I was asked to read. I felt blessed to read something for the devotees on Gaura Purnima but still I thought it was quite comical. In my nervous state I instinctively read in an Australian accent. The topic was “faith” in chanting but one devotee understood me to be saying “fight”. I don’t know what he managed to derive from the whole section but I hope this devotee took a chivalrous approach to his japa from this day onward.
            I was confused after the morning announcements about the order of the morning program. We started with Gurupuja and Partha Sarathi Prabhu led the chant. When it came to the usual transition from one side of the temple to the other (usually done in the first line of the Pancatattva mantra or the first refrain) I noticed no one was moving the microphone to the back of the temple. I decided I had best do the needful. I was quickly met with opposition, as I grabbed the microphone, from temple management (Manohara Prabhu). I realized my mistake soon enough, noticing that the back curtains were still closed. We continued to do our kirtana to Srila Prabhupada, as I tried to hide in the background yet again.
            Finally the Deities came out and we greeted them in a grand affair. Gaura Nitai’s altar was decorated as the Jharikanda forest. We had the usual ISKCON Govindam Prayers but then we started to sing Savarana-Sri-Gaura-Padma-Padme by Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura (the prayer sung to Pancatattva in Mayapur).

           After the beautiful prayers, I joined the students in the kitchen to cook up a breakfast for all the people who were not fasting, some of which were going to be hungry out on harinam today. We listened to HH Prahladananda Swami’s class from upstairs as we all worked away. It was going to be a big day and time was soon pending to meet up at the entrance of the Castle to head out.

We were all finally gathered, after much running around, but we had a few issues. The first issue was that Rick Prabhu couldn’t find the keys to the van, a crucial vehicle for our expedition. The rest of us jumped into other vehicles, our crew piling into what soon became “the smelly car” which had no bottoms to the seats (and was missing seats from the back row altogether). Eventually Rick found his keys and we were almost out. We soon realized that we were missing a crucial, yet small, piece of the sound system. After some needless loitering we concluded that it was best to just go and the singers could lead in pairs, renouncing the assistance of machinery.
            It was my first chance to take some rest so I attempted a car nap for the first section of the journey. We were in an unfortunate situation, that many devotees seem to find themselves in, having a person in the back without an actual seat. We warned him that there were many police in Holland but it didn’t stop him from climbing back there. He soon revealed his visa was overdue anyway and was enthusiastic about the concept of being caught because he’d pick up a free ticket back to his home country. (He was scheduled to leave soon after so it would have been a shortcut for him.) I took mental inventory: don’t travel in the same car as this guy again.
We jumped out of the car, into the local mall car park. Instantly I looked across the car park and we saw a man with a Hare Krsna T-shirt. Partha and I approached him. He had met the devotees in India, been to many temples and was very favourable. He took a Gita as a gift for his brother and was very appreciative. We had not even made it out of the car park and books were going out!
            We took the rest of the books up, in their boxes, onto the streets and the devotees started to dig in. It was frenzy, books were coming out everywhere. It looked like everyone had been given free money, so much so that a random person from the public thought there were free books, came up and took one. The book was distributed on its own merit or simply distributed on its own.

The harinam left, taking the remaining books, and not taking down the appropriate return times for the trip back. Partha Sarathi was confused, because he didn’t have his usual team of helpers to tell him what was going on or to direct the mayhem. Partha and I went our own way, so we could distribute books to the masses (there were already a couple book distributors trailing the harinam path so we filled in the gaps).

The harinam had completely vanished from our sight and the book box was with it. If we were to start running out of books then we’d have to find the harinam to do a refill. We checked on the other book distributors and postponed going on an epic journey to recover the harinam party. We met with Bhagavati Mataji, expressing her joy for going out for the first time since 1983. ISKCON in Europe had gone through some hard times but this day out on sankirtana was showing that some wounds were starting to heal.
            We stopped a couple alternatives, covered in dread locks, piercings and big hair. We asked them if they were rock stars, which they liked to hear. Partha began to show them the books, swapping again and again until they had a language that they could read. These men were out to start a revolution so we decided to help them out by starting the revolution in their heart. Next I stopped a boy who was eating a banana. He had the last portion of the banana in his mouth when I was about to say something to him. He nodded before I spoke, made a noise and walked off with the small book. The book was Matchless Gift; ironically it ended up being a gift for this preoccupied boy.
            We decided to track down the harinam party, which proved more difficult than we first thought. They had strayed off into the street malls of Maastricht, nowhere to be seen or heard. There was no speaker system so they were a little more faint then the usual rip-roaring street kirtanas. Eventually we found them, also finding an empty book box (the distributors had claimed all the books!). The devotees were all still super enthusiastic in their congregational kirtana.

            HH Prahladananda Swami continued to maintain the harinam at the main mall until we all closed in. We found ourselves lost for some time before we caught up with Rick Prabhu, who put us on the right track. We raced back to the Castle so we could put on our Gaura Purnima play (where I acted as Kolaveca Sridhara’s banana). We rested a little, experienced some ecstatic kirtana and then indulged in an epic, heart stopping feast until the night’s end. Everyone was intoxicated by sheer volumes of Prasadam and we all waddled off to bed, lying on our left sides. We first distributed the mercy on the streets and then we came back home to experience the mercy ourselves.

Read original post: [http://maddmonk.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/gaura-purnima]

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ISKCON Toronto, Canada: Deity Darshan: Sunday April 17, 2011

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Subhavilasa das ACBSP, Toronto, CA: Electro-Pop Recording Artist Sir Ivan Breaks the Billboard Top 10 With "Hare Krishna" Single

In the news: Electro-Pop Recording Artist Sir Ivan Breaks the Billboard Top 10 With "Hare Krishna" Single

An interesting quote from the article:
Sir Ivan explained, "For as long as I live, I will never forget, as a kid in the sixties, seeing both Hare Krishna men and women wearing orange robes, with shaved heads, dancing in parks and giving out free flowers in airports. They seemed truly content just being alive and needed no material possessions to achieve a state of happiness and inner peace. I had no idea what Hare Krishna meant, but hearing them sing the most famous mantra from India, over and over again, had a trance-like affect on me. So, I figured it would transition easily into a spiritual trance dance record."

We are not endorsing the article (since it is not entirely flattering) or condoning the re-mix and song components however the effects of maha mantra can never be under estimated, no matter the context or environment. So just an interesting tidbit and we will leave the commentary at that...

(Skip to the 0:35 and/or 1:45 marker)
Sir Ivan | Hare Krishna | DJ Praveen Nair Radio Mix by CrossedOverEnt

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Ananda Subramanian, Iowa, USA: 2 cups of milk

The body can be maintained by any kind of foodstuff, but cow's milk is particularly essential for developing the finer tissues of the human brain so that one can understand the intricacies of transcendental knowledge. (Srimad Bhagavatam 3.5.7, Purport)

So if you get milk products, milk, then you can prepare so many preparations full of vitamins, which will nourish your brain. Dull brain cannot understand what is spiritual knowledge. Therefore, that Mr. Bernard Shaw, he wrote a book. Perhaps you know it. You Are What You Eat. If you keep your brain dull, then how you can understand? Because without becoming very intelligent man, one cannot understand Kåñëa consciousness. That is stated in the Caitanya-caritämåta, kåñëa yei bhaje sei baòa catura: "One who takes to Kåñëa consciousness seriously and perfectly, he must be very, very intelligent." Dull brain cannot accept it. Bahünäà janmanäm ante jïänavän mäà prapadyate. So we have to make our brain very clean. And for that purpose you require to drink not very much, at least, one pound or half-pound milk daily. That is essential. (From a lecture by Srila Prabhupada given in Hawaii, January 15, 1974)

One pound of milk is approximately equivalent to 2 cups of milk. Srila Prabhupada is recommending we drink one or two cups of milk every day. This was spoken mainly to an American audience at that time and Prabhupada was well aware of the cow slaughter industry. Again, Srila Prabhupada is recommending milk consumption (albeit polluted) on the practical grounds of developing good intelligence. In other words, Prabhupada is correlating intelligence with milk. Prabhupada also is talking about cultivating intelligence for attaining spiritual knowledge and use this knowledge for preaching. So if the end purpose is to preach Krishna Consciousness with proper intelligence, then according to Prabhupada, it is ok to drink one or two cups of milk daily (not necessarily more than that). Utility is the principle.

In Sri Isopanishad, Prabhupada talks about “making best use of bad bargain”. Polluted milk is a bad bargain but we can make best use (utility principle) ONLY IF we cultivate intelligence to spread the movement of Krishna Consciousness. The means of milk consumption (1 or 2 cups) should be to the ends of preaching Krishna consciousness, otherwise not. This is how I understand the above two quotes.

Hare Krishna

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Mayapur Online: HH Jayapataka Swami Vyasapuja Celebrations

More than 4000 disciples and well-wishers from all over the world assembled at Mayapur to celebrate the Vyasa Puja festival of HH Jayapataka Swami on 14th April. The day before adhivas was performed. Cultural programs and seminars were part of the festival. Maharaj gave a special class in the morning. Maharajas godbrothers and disciples glorified him on his achievements, dedication and devotion to Srila Prabhupada and they also expressed their personal interactions with Maharaja.
read more

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Akrura das, Gita Coaching: TWO KINDS OF PEOPLE

There are two kinds of people in this life:
Those who walk into a room and say,
“Well, here I am!”
And those who walk in and say,
“Ahh, there you are.”

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Dandavats.com: In Devotees We Trust

By Kesava Krsna Dasa
There is a lot of emphasis nowadays on the need for love and trust among devotees. We can cite the six loving exchanges between us. We can also use the strength of the often quoted, “your love for me will be shown by how you cooperate.” In spite of our efforts to promote this ideal, can we ever expect a situation where love and trust dominates in all of our devotee interactions?

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Dandavats.com: Mombasa temple opening

Akrura Das: Please check out this wonderful slide show from the fantastic new temple opening that took place in Mombasa on Ramvami

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Dandavats.com: Murari’s cow & oxen need your help!!

Murari Sevaka: Apparently mother Yasoda and the oxen were attacked by a group of roving dogs.. Since she was milked at 3am, it must have taken place over the next few hours. According to the game warden, this is becoming more and more common

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Gouranga TV: Bhajan – 24hr Kirtan

Bhajan - 24hr Kirtan - Radhika - 14/26
rupagopi

Bhajan – 24hr Kirtan

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Vraja Kishor, JP: Spirituality of the Letter “A”

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krsna says:
aksharanam a-karo ’smi
Among letters, “A” is I.
“A” is a special letter, not because it comes first in our alphabet. After all, Krsna is speaking in Sanskrit to Arjuna, who is also a Sanskrit speaker. They are talking about the letter “A” in Sanskrit.
Still, when you know why the letter A is special in Sanskrit, you get to wondering if its not the same reason why the letter comes first in our alphabet and in so many (maybe all) alphabets.
Why is “A” so special?
Sanskrit is a “syllabic” language. Japanese is too. I guess most of the Asian family of languages might be. What does it mean to be “syllabic”? It means that the root sounds (the “letters”) are always single syllables in and of themselves. What is a syllable? It is a vowel sound. What then are consonants? They are con- (with) sonnance (the sound), i.e. they are sounds that appear with the vowel. They shape the beginning (or end in some languages) of the vowel. “K” for example, is a consonant. You cannot say “K” by itself. If you try to it will either comes out of your mouth as “kay” or “Kkkih.” Whatever sound you make, it will have a vowel in it. Because the main part of the sound is the vowel, and the consonant is the decoration shaping the outside of the vowel.
Of all letters, Vowels represent God.
Why?
Because no sounds can be made without vowels. All the other letters are useless without vowels. All the other consonants are like “so many zeros” and the vowel is like “a one placed in front of the zeros.” We cannot exist without God – in the same way that sound cannot exist without a vowel. Consonants do exist, but their exists is dependant upon their relationship to a vowel. In the same way, you and I really do exist, but our existence is dependant upon our relationship to God. Because God exists, we exist.
What is our role? A consonant enhances the vowel. That is our role. We are to enhance God’s reality. We are to be of service.
Of all the vowels, why “A”?
A is the first of the vowels.
Why?
Because it is, according to Sanskrit thought at least, the first, most natural sound to come out of our mouth.
The Sanskrit alphabet is beautiful because it illustrates this dependence of consonants upon vowels. In Sanskrit every syllable is a vertical line. This vertical line is the “A” sound. The consonants are curves and other shapes attached horizontally to the vertical line. Other vowels besides “A” are vertical amendments to the basic “A” vertical line.
Thus the Sanskrit alphabet itself depicts the sambandha-tattva – the truth of the relationship between the individual soul and the absolute soul.

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Japa Group: Even The Shadow Of The Name

Even the shadow of the name brings liberation, just as the first rays of the dawn chase away the ghosts and thieves of the night. “Yet still I live in the shadow of the name,” he thinks. “Should I even aspire to rise? Let me try first to stay awake, free of illicit desire, properly pronouncing Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Even I can be transformed.

From Japa Reform Notebook
by Satsvarupa dasa Goswami

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Rama Navami Photos

Here is the first slideshow from last week's festivities.

Pictures taken by Rasa Nandini Mataji

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ISKCON Melbourne, AU: Today's Darsana

"For serving the lotus feet of the daughter of Vrsabhanu, I shall become a protected maidservant of one of the gopis in Vraja. I will always strive to bring about the pleasure of Sri Radha..."

(Siddhi-Lalasa in Saranagati by Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura).

Here is the darsana of Thakura Bhaktivinoda's swamini, splendid Srimati Radhika.

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